The Riddle
by Shadow131
Summary: Sarah has had thirteen seasons free from goblin meddling. But words have meaning, and the Goblin King always answers when called. New gifts offered, for a new price - more tempting than the last. Can Sarah send him away again? Does she even want to? Later adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

**(Re-posted, as for some reason, doesn't seem to like my documents?)**

**A.N.:** Let me just say that until two weeks ago, I didn't even like "Labyrinth." I am not exaggerating when I say catching this movie on late night TV as a child who couldn't sleep put me in _therapy_ (it was the muppets ripping off heads. It's always the muppets ripping off heads). I had friends in high school who were like, "David Bowie's crotch!" and my reaction was, "_Get it away from me_!" Having said all that...I actually liked it a good deal. Like, as an art film with a coming-of-age story. Still too many muppets, though (it's always the muppets).

So, the inspiration for writing this comes almost solely from user Tara1189. I am incredibly vain when it comes to my work, and without a moment's hesitation I say that she is far and away my superior. Not that I'm so bad, but her work deserves major credit. The inclusion of Gaelic and Celtic lore is done with exotic style, and so I most humbly try to continue on from her inspiration; because when someone gets everything right, you don't monkey around with it.

I also dedicate this to my friend Chet, because he's the one who told me to do it, so it's at least partly his fault.

**The Riddle**

OvO

_See the moon sink down in the sky, darling_

_Let your fantasies fly, darling_

_Life is cold, and the game is old..._

- "The Riddle," The Scarlet Pimpernel

OvO

"...no bridal bed, no bridal song hath been my joy, no joy of marriage, no portion in the-" The wind was beating more strongly against the windows now. A fall storm, and for sure. Trying to seem undaunted, she pressed on. "-in the nurture of children-"

The wind crashed so loudly against the aging brick of the auditorium, her voice was lost in the creaking of the boards and cracking of the trees on the building. "Louder, Sarah, louder!" Michael cried in high, dramatic fashion. "We can't hear you in the back! Project!"

"Michael!" Barbara was scolding, turned around in her seat. "Stop screwing around and come listen to Sarah!"

Sarah tried to continue as though none of this were intimidating; not the roar of the wind or the clenching of her stomach. _Just say the words, you can say them_. "_But thus_," she cried to match the wind, "forlorn of friends-"

_Ka-koom! _The wind cracked at the theater doors as if to break them open. She stumbled slightly, tried not to falter.

_"__Great, a theater _and _an English major. We'd better not clean out her room, she's going to need it after graduation..." The remark was humorously meant, but perhaps the barb did find its mark just a little?_

_"__I can hear you, you know. I am literally standing right here."_

_"__Robert, please. Just help me get her boxes into the car."_

_"__Coming, honey."_

_"__Sarah." Toby wrapped himself around her right leg, still too young to care how annoying this might be to an adult. "You're going to be a big star, okay?"_

_She smiled down at him, more gently, more tenderly than she ever looked at anyone. "Okay," she nodded in reply. If Toby said it, it must be so. There was no one in this world whom she loved more. She somethings thought that, for that, she ought to thank-_

"Oy!" Michael was whistling, walking down the center aisle and clapping his hands at Sarah. "She's gone up, we've got a live one!"

"Michael..."

Sarah was startled back to semi-reality, scouring her brain hard for the rest of the monologue. "I-I go living to the..." she stammered, trying to prove the Junior wrong. "To the vaults of...Damn it." Out of character. "Why can I never remember that line?"

"It was still great," Michael approved with his pearly white smile, a hand out to help her off the stage. "No doubt Sophocles would be pleased. Hey, it rhymes!"

"Yeah, well," Sarah grumbled, taking her friend's hand and sitting at the edge of the stage, swinging her legs over with a grunt. "It's not Sophocles I need to worry about, it's Professor Wayne." She dropped down from the boards, landing on her little flats, wincing a bit.

"It's just a midterm, you'll do fine. Wayne always goes easy on the Freshmen. And anyway," the young man rubbed his hands together with a devious grin. "_My _turn to practice."

"I want to go _home_..." Barbara whined, sinking lower in the folding seat. "Come on, Mikey, we were only supposed to use the Black Box anyway!"

"Hey, if the stage door is unlocked, _I'm_ practicing on a stage!" He paused, adjusting his collar and ruffling his hair, all preparation to meet his character. "And, for God's sake, Barbara, don't call me Mikey."

"It's probably past nine," Sarah defended, pushing her long, dark hair behind her ears.

"Well now, what's this? Are we lovers of the theater or aren't we?"

"I'm not," Barbara dryly replied.

"Okay, fine, but you love me, you're here for emotional support."

"I've _been _her for support since five o'clock!"

"Well, it's important! Sarah just has to practice for a midterm, but _I_ have to be ready for the children's theater production in barely three more weeks!"

"_Just _a midterm?"

"Sarah, darling, hush. I'm a trained thespian. Barbie." He tossed his considerably cross girlfriend his script. "Read the girl's part, it'll get me in the mood – on second thought...don't. You're a chem major, you'll just butcher it."

"Oh, thanks a lot!" she shouted, nearly tossing the script back at him.

"Fine, fine, you do the stage direction!...Sarah. You read the part."

Eighteen year old Sarah leaned over her friend's shoulder, blanched. "N-no, I can't..."

"Can't? Are you an actress or aren't you!"

"I don't..." she said slowly, trying to decide just how much to reveal. "I don't like goblins..."

There was a pause. Michael broke out in raucous, only-half-acting laughter. "You _what_? Come on, Sarah, you're not afraid of the bogeyman, are you?"

"N-no, of course not..." _Something far worse_...It happened, on some nights, that when she closed her eyes, she still saw walls that stretched on forever, hands that came out of the dark to grab at her, monstrous little faces leering at her in the shadows – and worst and best of all, a pair of otherworldly eyes, a color nowhere found on earth, eyes she _could not_ forget.

She wasn't always even sure she wanted to.

"Hey," Barbara comforted, putting an arm around her friend's shoulder. "After we stayed up late and watched 'Dawn of the Dead,' you remember? - I had nightmares for a month, and now I'm scared of zombies!"

"Oh great, I'm rehearsing with the Midnight Society over here."

"_Michael_-"

"I'll read it, jeeze," Sarah grumbled, grabbing for the script, scanning the passages highlighted by her friend. She gripped the worn pages with increased terror, hands pale and barely shaking. _They're just words_, she told herself. _They can't hurt me._

_But words have meaning._

"You don't need to do the entire passage," Michael instructed, turning his back to the ladies and shaking his shoulders loose. "I'll be fine if you go from the top of the page, the narrator's bit."

Sarah took a deep breath, eyes closed. She wasn't afraid of words on a page, of being seen on a stage-

But she was afraid of what was waiting for her when this moment was over.

"But what no one knew," she called out, strong and clear, holding the pages in a vice grip. "Is that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl." More wind bashed at the theater walls, as though it wanted to get inside. Sarah paid it no heed. "And he had given her certain powers." Barbara was burrowing into the threadbare theater seat, as ready to be enchanted by the performance as anyone. "And one night, when the girl could no longer stand the cruel treatment from the wicked step-mother and the awful baby-" _Here it comes_.

Barbara elbowed her, whispering, "Go, Sarah, show him you're just as good as he is."

_"__Yes, Sarah, show me_."

_W...what?_

A gulp of air – time to roll the dice.

"Goblin King, Goblin King

Wherever you may be

Keep your promise to me now

Take this child from me

Take us to a world unseen

I wish to be the Goblin Queen!"

_Krakow! _Sarah pivoted in the aisle, hypnotized by the sound of the wind at the door. Was that a roll of thunder? It hadn't seemed hot enough for an electrical storm. Never mind, it proved the perfect sound effect, for there was the sudden boom of Michael's feet hitting the boards as he jumped into position. Barbara gave out a giggly little shriek of surprise and amusement as her young lover strutted and growled across the stage. Sarah watched, too, but she was only half aware of the performance; no, her ears were straining to catch the slightest note of something...off. Maybe nothing had happened. Maybe she was only insane.

"Little children in the night

Lost in darkness, cold with fright

I take only what is discarded;

Make them new and full hard-hearted;

Give it little Goblin eyes

To let it human love despise;

Give it little Goblin tail;

Make it over, nail from nail.

Pray for courage, bold and brave:

You'll need it for yourself to save

No mother's tears, no songs you sing,

Can save you from the Goblin King!"

There was another _boom_, a crash of light – the theater went completely dark. Barbara could be heard screaming as Michael swore and tried to keep from falling right off the stage. For her part, Sarah did not move, barely breathed as her green eyes glowed pale in the inky blackness. _No, no, no, no_- Suddenly, an electric hum – the lights were back on. Everyone seemed to relax an inch; Sarah did not dare.

"_Michael_!"

"Relax, would you? The generator turned on, a branch must have knocked out the power line."

"I want to go home _now_!"

"Okay, okay!" Michael hopped off the stage in one fluid, relaxed motion. "But I was great, wasn't I? Going to scare the kiddy's right out their pants. Wait till you see my costume, they've got this wig for me with these crystals in them that-"

"_Michael_."

"We're _going_, Barbara. Yo, Sarah." He snapped his fingers, Sarah still stood transfixed. "Yoohoo, this is ground control to Major Tom!"

"What?" The young girl jumped slightly, clutching at the long sleeves of her shirt. "S-sorry."

"You're working too hard, kiddo. Come on, let's go back to the dorm."

"Right..."

These children, barely adults, collected coats and scarves and book bags, as laughing and chatty as late-adolescents might be. Even Sarah smiled a little, already convincing herself that she was merely being superstitious. Michael pushed open the double doors grandly, taking a deep breath of crisp, autumnal air. "Looks like the rain hasn't started yet! Come on, we'd better hurry before it changes its mind." They walked the weaving path that went on spider-trails throughout the campus, back toward their respective dorms, wind mercilessly pushing at them. Drying, dead leaves scuttered before them, yet the dark, breathy night felt exhilarating, the electricity in the air making the fine hairs on their arms stand on end. Sarah had almost been ready to accept that maybe there really was no magic left to call back a child's nightmare, when she looked up into the darkening trees-

And saw the barn owl perched there, watching.

Watching _her_.

"Well, night, Sarah. Let me know if you want to go over your monologue again before the test day."

"Michael." She grabbed at his arm, clutching the fleece and trying to play off a laugh to hide the quiver in her voice. He looked down at her hand and up at her face in a confused smile. "W-walk me back to my dorm, huh?"

"Sarah!" he laughed, shaking her free. "My girlfriend is standing _right there_. You wanna get me in trouble?"

"C-come on, please."

He patted her upper arm, flashing her a smile that did absolutely nothing to comfort the young woman. "You aren't still afraid of the dark, are you, Sarah?"

Barbara had already charged on ahead to her dorm building. "_Night, Sarah! Michael, come on!_"

"_I'm coming_! Night, Sarah."

"N-night..."

It seemed they had barely even reached the door when she felt that gust of wind behind her – far icier, far..._heavier _than the rest of the night air. "Yes, Sarah, you're not still afraid of the dark, are you?"

She didn't want to turn around, she _didn't_. Part of her thought to run, just run straight on ahead until she reached her own building – Goblin Kings didn't get key cards, he might not be able to get through the front door.

_Who in the _hell _do I think I'm kidding_?

"What's the matter, Sarah? Are you not pleased to see me?"

Sarah Williams willed herself to turn around and face the source of all her nightmares of the last three years: the Goblin King.

Jareth smiled down at her, wickedly, evilly, teeth pointed in a devilish sneer. The circle of the moon made a bright halo round his golden head, as though he were an angel, and not a demon.

Sarah knew better.

"Come, Sarah, my love." Hands on the knees of his silver-grey britches, the Goblin King bent slightly to be on her level. Touching his kid-gloved fingers to her chin, he admonished, "How about a little smile. How I have missed that adorable little smile."

"Get away from me!" Her voice was a little louder, a little shriller than she meant it to be, but she pushed his hand away from her all the same.

"Now, _Sarah_. Is that any way to treat me? When I came all the way here just to see you?"

"I have _no idea _why you're here," she replied spitefully, turning on her heels and determined to just walk away. _Just walk away_. Sarah's feet moved in her brown leather flats, she saw the trees passing as she went – and yet, somehow, the lights of her building grew no closer...the Goblin King no further from her. "_What _are you doing?"

"Me? Nothing! Nothing, tra la la. Waiting for you, precious thing."

"I _don't _want you near me, I _don't _want to talk to you, and I _don't _want to be on your..._magic treadmill _anymore!"

"Oh, love." He drew around her, his black and feathery cloak somehow weaving all around her, enveloping her, blocking out the hazy light of the campus lamps. "How little you understand. I came back because _you_ wished it."

"I _didn't_."

"Oh yes, you did, you said, 'Goblin King, etc., etc., _I wish to be the Goblin Queen_.'" Sarah's jaw hung open slightly. Smirking, he touched his gloved thumb to her lips. "I like it when you look like that."

"S-stop it!" The young woman pushed the hand away again. "_I _didn't say that! I mean – I did, but it wasn't _me_!"

"Oh, wasn't it?"

"It was...that play, the play, you must have heard it a thousand times!"

"Mm, not as often as you'd think. And anyway, there's a difference." Smiling down at her in her unbelief, he tapped one finger to her small, soft nose. "_You _meant it."

"...you're _crazy_." Beating away his cloak (far too soft to in any way be made by human hands), she once again tried to storm her way to the safety, the _reality _of her tiny eight by twelve.

"Maybe," he addressed her, stiff and proud in all his vaingloriousness. His starkly white collar, his perfectly formed cravat stood out glittering in the darkness of the night, the darkness of his be-feathered cloak. "But unfortunately for your petulant little mood, _I _have proof." Sarah's lack of progress was arrested by what she knew was happening behind her. The motion was soundless, yet still she heard it, like the tinkling of a thousand perfect chimes. She turned, and in those fine, aristocratic hands, an orb sat perched in perfect symmetry, more glittering – it seemed – than any possible diamond here on earth. "Would you like to _see it_, love?" he hissed at her, and she stepped back, frightened once again.

"N-no."

"No, of course not, you already know the scene so well, don't you?" He turned the crystal over in his fingers, a tantalizing glow coming from deep inside. "You don't mind if I replay it, do you, my sweet? It's been such a _dear _pastime for me these long years you were away." Sarah covered her ears with her pale, frozen hands. God no, don't let it, don't let _him_- "I have to say," he was continuing, knowing she would hear him through all her attempts at the contrary, knowing she _must _hear him. "I have been the source of inspiration for many a maiden before, but _your _dreams, Sarah." He purred as he held the orb up to his lips, a devilishness in his unnatural eyes that _dared _her to take a look. "So _intense_, so vivid...but then again, you always were an _excellent _dreamer."

"S-stop it!"

"But I am not doing anything. You did all the _doing_, my dear. It was you that invited me back, night after night – _begged _me back, _prayed _for me – all in the sanctity of your sweet little dreams."

"Th-they're just dreams! They don't _mean _anything, you haven't _proven _anything!"

"Oh, haven't I?" He stepped nearer to her, still proffering that dangerous bubble. "You were so _innocent_ before you ran my Labyrinth, weren't you, Sarah? Little dreams of fairy princesses, unicorns and teddy bears. I had no idea my effect upon you was so..._penetrating_."

"_Stop_," she growled at him through white and gritted teeth, hands now cold and icy fists clenched at her sides. "_Stop it_, Jareth."

"'Stop it, Jareth,' is it, now that is something I am not used to hearing, no, no." A sound came pouring from the crystal in his palms, deep and primeval, a sound Sarah knew too intimately in the darkest recesses of her heart and mind.

_His mouth was hotter than she might have expected, deeply warm and richly red. The soft, damp tongue did its work too thoroughly, tasted her skin like a morsel to be savored. And she, she adored every aching moment of it, loved how smooth and soft his hands were without their stately gloves. The bed felt like it might stretch on for miles, and that they might be the only two remaining in the entire universe. How she wanted that: wanted her father, Karen, Toby, all to disappear and leave her as one woman in the arms of one man – one more-than-man, for an endless eternity of lovemaking. She arched into his every touch, shivering with the pleasures he gave her. Sarah loved when her fingers twined into his hair, loved the damp, glorious feeling of hot, slick skin against skin; the soft, insistent movement of his body against her own. "Don't stop, Jareth, _oh God, please _don't stop-"_

"I feel as though I almost know you already." Sarah gasped and started, unaware he had even snaked his way behind her, his gloved hands resting at her trim waist. "How much I am looking forward to enjoying you in our own reality..." Sarah pushed his arm away, made a short dash to escape his entrapping embrace. It knocked the crystal from his fingers, and she worried for a moment what his wrath might bring – but the thing bounced harmlessly to the cement pavement and flew obediently back into his waiting hand: this was a dream not of what-might-be, but what her mind had already conjured up. Nothing could shatter the past. "I see you still need some convincing..." he grumbled, his low tenor sounding mildly irritated.

"Look, _Goblin King_, I _don't _want this! If I had, I'd...I'd have actually wished you back when I had those dreams!"

"'Had?'"

She ignored him. "I have a _life, _okay? See? A _real _life, full of _real _things!"

"How very dull," he sniffed, his sharp nose pointed into the air. "I thought better of you."

"Maybe to you it's dull, but it's _better _than your make believe world because it _exists_."

"Foolish girl," he sneered, starlight and crystal glow embedding itself in his long, pale gold tresses. "Just because something is _make believe _doesn't mean it does not _exist_. You ought to know that."

"_That _is crazy."

"Well, just look at yourself." Sarah did look down: she seemed normal enough; her wool coat and tartan scarf, her simple blue jeans and long white shirt, her little shoes- "You changed since you ran the Labyrinth, did you not?"

"I grew out of fairy stories, if that's what you mean."

"Cute. But don't be such a simpleton." Clearing his throat, he directed a long, gloved finger at her. "Don't deny you flatter yourself at night, combing that long, dark hair in front of the mirror. 'The girl with the unearthly glow around her, so haunting, _so _beautiful.'"

"_Shut up_."

"But it's true, my sweet." He stepped closer to her now, so close she could catch his scent not ten inches from her: it was as no man on earth might smell, not store-bought cologne or dirt or musk; but what a perfume made of pearls might smell like, richly deep, intoxicating, yet alerting; black tea and bergamot, cinnamon and leather. His _smell _was opalescent. "You _do _positively glow." He put his hand softly to her cheek, and Sarah was too mesmerized trying to define his scent to pull away. "And that's _my _Labyrinth at work. You beat it, you took its magic with you, you _glow_."

"I-"

"Don't tell me you haven't wondered," he continued, sending his hand down to her soft, pale throat in a gentle, stroking motion. "Where all your shinning knights in armor are, hm? Where are all the men come to plant their _unworthy _kisses on those red lips? Why all the other girls in school find their little lovers, but not you? Not Sarah Williams, who is _so _much prettier by far-"

"I'm not as _vain_ as you," she snapped, but still did not move away from his hand. "I _don't _think that."

"Ah, but you are prettier." He held her other cheek in his free hand now, a small whimper left her lips unbidden. The Goblin King smirked. "You were a cute enough child when you first came to my Labyrinth, I suppose," he seemed to allow, as though it were some great compliment. "But look at you now...just on the cusp of glorious womanhood..." He stroked her with his thumb, and she felt hypnotized by him. "The baby fat left your cheeks, hmm, you're all graceful lines," his right hand dropped from her throat, down her soft breast, grasped her at the waist and hip, "and _tight form_." She gasped a little, in spite of herself. "What's that terrible cliché? 'Gaining curves in all the right places?'" He seemed to smile, to purr. "And all that soft, dark hair, those eyes like jewels. They're afraid of your radiance, of how much grander you are than they. Beautiful Sarah, far too beautiful for any mortal man." He leaned in close, she could feel his breath upon her face – sharp, sweet, like mint. "_But not for me_."

Her sage-green eyes had been transfixed upon his lips (how soft they looked, what might they taste like?), and had not moved, had barely breathed as Jareth leaned into her. However, the Goblin spell was fleeting, and with a sudden rush of wisdom, she placed hands upon his chest and _shoved_. "N-_No_! No means no, gawd, how many times am I going to have to say it!"

Jareth growled a little, like a predator, but did not allow himself to appear anymore put out than that. "Quite a great many more, I'm afraid," he rubbed his chin, looking at her through eyes that were just slits in a dark, _displeased _face.

"What," she demanded, small hands balled into little fists at her sides. "Forever? How did you even _get _here – and don't tell me I wished for you. I've wished for a _lot _of things in the last three years and you never showed up."

The Goblin King smiled – smirked, really, running a smooth, black glove through his unearthly mane of sterling hair. "You had thirteen hours to beat my Labyrinth. You don't think I would give myself the same sporting chance?"

"You..._what_? What does that even mean."

His most regal Majesty once more lifted his fingertips where a crystal lay, only now it spun around his hand in whirling, topsy-turvy excitement. Sarah felt herself transfixed by its ethereal, unreal glow, wondering what shown within its opal depths. It came to a stop and she gasped a little, lips parted. "I did have to deal with the _aftermath _of your little visit first, it's true," Jareth was answering in smooth and dulcet tones, the crystal beginning to spin again, slowly, on his palm, a globe about its axis. "And you were too young to come back to me, my sweet. So I bid my time – thirteen seasons, to be exact." Sarah watched them pass through the orb in haunting beauty: her victorious spring, standing over Toby's crib; the heedless summer that followed it; the fall, the winter, all in beautiful succession, when she had lived her life without a care in the world – _almost _without a care, in any case. As the very present moment approached within the orb, all grey storms and swirling leaves, the Goblin King clapped his hands together (Sarah stumbled back a bit in surprise), and the crystal was gone. "And now..." He leaned his head down to stare into her face as she had been staring into his outstretched palms. "_Precious thing_...I'm taking my turn. How did your boorish little friend say it? 'No mother's tears, no songs you sing, can save you from the Goblin King.' That's quite quaint, I like that."

"Stop being such a _jerk_, Jareth."

"Go on, Sarah, cut me, _wound _me, let me feel the lash of your fiery wit!"

Sarah wanted to summon some barb worthy of Oscar Wilde, something to put the Goblin King in his place once and forever. The best she could come up with was a stammering, "Piss off," and a second attempt at getting back home.

No such luck. His fingers wound tightly round her wrist, enough to make her cry out in a little pain as he pulled her full against him. "I told you, sweet, it's still my turn."

"I'm not playing your sick little games, Jareth!"

She could feel the rumble of his humiliating laughter deep in his broad chest as he held her taut against his firm body. His golden hair tickled her as he leaned down to whisper hotly in her ear. "You don't even know the wager yet."

"Don't care," she hissed, trying to pull against him, to break free; the harder she tugged, the stronger he seemed to become, as if she might be glued to his body. The struggle became more difficult, his warmth – that ethereal scent – trapping her closer. Sarah's will remained unchanged, yet her body was mutinously sabotaging her attempts. "Not playing..."

"You struggle so sweetly, and yet I know you do not wish to leave me."

"You have _got _to be kidding."

Smiling in a way that could only be called devilish, Jareth released her from his vice-like grip. With a short scream, Sarah felt herself falling backwards from the force with which she had pulled against him. And yet, before she could hit the earth, there he was again, catching her in his arms, down on bended knee. "See?" He was chuckling low, oh, it was _terribly _funny to him. "Back again, dearest."

"Ugh..." Sarah pushed off him, rolled to her feet. Her silky dark tresses were beginning to cling to her smooth face as the static in the air brought by the storm (or was it by his magic?) increased. What was this nightmare, and what did Jareth intend? To stay another thirteen seasons, another thirteen _years_?

"What, no thank you?"

Sarah was dusting off her jeans, trying to seem unaffected by all his _goblinish _meddling. "If you put out a house on fire, you don't get credit if you're the arsonist."

"That's cute, that's clever." The Goblin King stood, towering over her. "Now, precious, I can see how tired you are." He moved to run a thumb over the dark circles that hung below her emerald eyes; Sarah jerked her head away and hissed like a defensive cat. "If you do not want to play any longer, let us retire. You needn't even walk." Jareth sneaked his arms around her, the knave, even down to her back pockets and pulled her closer to his hips, as though he might be preparing to scoop her into his arms. Sarah's face dipped in a failed attempt at hiding her short gasp for breath. Instead, it merely made it so that her soft head was buried in the warm firmness of his strong chest. "I shall carry you across the threshold like a little bride. You'd like that, admit it, stop being so contrary."

"_No_!" Her voice was louder than she meant it to be, more like a scream, but perhaps that was a good thing, at last a chance to get her point across. She was so loud that it made the Goblin King loosen his grip just enough for her to slip through his tightened fingers. "You don't _get it_. You don't _listen_. Look, I'll admit, I don't understand what your whole..._deal _is," she spat at him, ignoring the way his silver-gold eyes narrowed. "I don't know _why _you do these things you do. And I'm sorry that you chose me, but-"

"_Chose _you?" This seemed to be the greatest insult she had hurled at him all night. He seemed to grow in size – taller, wider, so that his handsome, broad shoulders blocked out what remained of the dim light, so that he _loomed _above her like the great king that he was. "Chose _you_? _Hahahaha_! How vain we must be, Miss Sarah Williams! To think that _I _would choose an impudent, common, _mortal child-"_

"Keep talking, Goblin King, you're really winning me over!"

"_I_ did not choose you." His voice was husky and low, the air of the night seemed to drop in obedience to his hushed words. "_You _called me, it was _you_ who came to me – _you _who broke apart my Labyrinth brick by bloodied brick! _Fate_ chose you, little Sarah – you were _molded _to be my Queen. How _else _do you expect me to believe you bested me in all your little foolishness? _Oh no_. _I_ have fought this, _I _have rallied against you, the same as you fight me here and now. The universe _itself _will not allow it, a thousand realities spinning and dashing into pieces are as _nothing_-" Here he grabbed her again, pulled her hard against him, her head tucked beneath the firm point of his strong chin. Sarah was breathless, she didn't have the mind, the strength, nor will to fight him. "-compared to what was dreamed up for us, _little one_. I waited a millennium, watched kingdoms rise and fall – a thousand lives worth more than yours – before I found what the strands of eternity had laid out for me." His teeth were clenched in white, straight lines, and he whispered fiercely in her ear. Sarah knew she ought to be afraid, and yet, somehow, she found instead a part of her responding in giddy agreement; deep within the pit of her stomach, a necessity bred from ancient evolutions told her _yes, listen_. His strong hand at her waist brought out heady, pooling want that had been known by her mother, her grandmother, all her line back to the beginning. Sarah was not weak, but life itself was far stronger. The feeling within whispered that a delicious destiny – worth far more than silly dreams of stardom or family – was unfolding before her soft eyes. "Now I tell you once again, struggle as you like, for I will _never _stop until total victory is completely _mine_."

He seemed to overcome her then, his dark cloak wrapped around her like a cocoon. His embrace was impossibly tight, it set her body aflame as he bent as though to consume her. He was right when he said her dreams before had been innocent enough; she once thought of knights in armor to win her chaste love and lips. It was the farthest thing from her mind that the Goblin King should be the first man to claim her kisses. Certainly the part of her that feared and loathed him (and rightfully so) reacted with great disgust, but sad to say it was the minority of her feeling. Jareth's lips were far softer than she might have imagined for one so hard and pitiless. It was true, what he said, her body seemed to mold into his embrace like glove to hand. Without her needing to will anything at all, her arms wrapped around the strong line of his neck. Encouraged, he drew her deeper, closer, nearer to him, so that she seemed almost lifted off the ground, stretched on tip-toe to meet his pressing mouth. _Dear God, was he right_? The part of her mind – the small part – that had any kind of rational thought left to it was trembling as surely as her body was. _Is this a hopeless fight, is there some kind of..._destiny _at work here_?

Her more logical thoughts rallied themselves, she separated from his entanglements on the pretense (the true pretense) of gasping for air as his kisses still burned like fire on her lips, even in the coldness of the October night. "You see?" Jareth purred languorously, eyes half closed in _deep _satisfaction. He softly touched her lower lip with two fingers in a caressing gesture. "How right I am? I am _always _right." He licked his own lips and drew her in again, breath hot against her temple. He did not seem to notice the way her eyes darted about, that her face was not to his again; he was savoring the first step of his victory too much. "But I will allow you one point – capturing you outside of those pretty dreams of yours is more satisfying by _far_." His nose – like the sharpened beak of a bird of prey – nuzzled gently into the joining of her throat and jaw, his sighs still hot against her skin. "Shall I tell you what you taste of, precious thing?" He nipped her ear before whispering into it, not noticing (or choosing to ignore) the way she had begun to wriggle in his warm embrace. "White wine and flowers, jasmine..." All his tender endearments – true or false, it is not to say – were halted when he felt his prize slide from his grasp. That slip of a thing, if she could not break out of his arms by force, she would glide down out of him, like an eel from untrained hands. "_What_..."

Sarah was completely out of breath – from the long day, from her fright, from her struggles, and yes, from his searing kisses. She stood before him, shoulders drooping, face worn, but eyes like _stars _in their defiance. She grinned through a kiss-reddened mouth at him. "You want to play, Goblin King? Let's play. You still haven't scored a point with me."

Stock still stood the fey king, awesome and magnificent in his darkly burning anger. He was black and silver, mighty and horrible, and though Sarah knew she was still terribly afraid – she had the courage to stand tall against him, and not to show it. "So," he hissed through pointed teeth, his voice low and scratchier in his attempts to point his rage in useful directions. "Still so unappreciative, are we, little Sarah?"

"I'm terribly appreciative, I'm afraid I just cannot accept."

"Ha." The laugh was short, biting, _cold_. "Hahaha. How _adorable _you are. How you _try my patience_."

"Are we playing or aren't we? What are the stakes, you promised me a wager. Come on, let's have it!"

This seemed to intrigue him a bit, for his white-gold eyes flared a little, flashed. His hard mouth – and those _impossibly _soft lips – turned upward in a sneer that made him look far more dangerous, and yet somehow more alluring than ever. Sarah did not dare to close her eyes, would _not _acknowledge the wobbling of her legs or the liquid state of her insides from how he en-flamed her. "Are you interested, precious?"

"You're clearly not going to go away until I best you again, so let's hear it. Let's see what you've come _all _this way for."

"Hm." An old magic seemed to weave itself around the Goblin King. Sarah could see it even though it lacked all physical presence, she _knew _it was there. The thickening of the air around them was evidence enough. His dark and feathered cloak drawn over his shoulders, the fey trickster's lithe fingers steepled together, tip to tip, and a glow began to emanate from the space that his hands created. The blindingly bright bubble appeared; Sarah sighed a little.

"_Another _crystal? You're kind of a one trick pony, aren't you?"

Magnanimously, he ignored the last half of this statement. "Nothing more." Jareth did not seem put out by the girl's blasé response, still smirking as dreadfully as ever. "But..." He stepped closer to her, putting a hand to the small of her back and pulling her in before Sarah had a chance to dig in her heels. "If you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams.." With an affected huff, Sarah tried to turn her face away, but the Goblin King blocked her with his arm on one side, his body on the other. "Do you want to see them, love?"

"Seeing them wouldn't mean anything. I _know _what my dreams are."

"Mmm," he purred, starting to grin widely with pearly, pointed teeth. "How lucky you are, most people don't. But this is far _more _than that..." Taking his free arm from off her shoulder, he seized her hand and pried open the delicate fingers, so as to accept his offering. "I could give them to you." He held the shinning ball just a hair's breadth from her hands, and Sarah would have had to admit that, mouth dry, her fingers did try to close around it, despite what she may have otherwise felt. "Ah ah ah," Jareth admonished, pulling the bauble away just slightly. "This is not a gift for an _ordinary _girl who does her studies and waits in the wings for her turn on the stage."

"I'm not _stupid_, you know," she hissed at him, a slight blush upon her cheeks for her moment of weakness. "I know you're not that _generous_, whatever you may say. There is no gift from you that doesn't come with a price, that's how these fey things work, isn't it?"

"Well, Sarah, if a man gives you your dreams, surely you owe him _some _gratitude."

"And what," the young girl dryly replied, eying him cautiously, "is _some _gratitude to you? Last time you were trying to trade me my dreams for my brother – Toby's safe from you, he's not here."

"Ah, that's the _brilliant _part, you see," he whispered, drawing her close again. Again, again, _ugh_, not again; don't, she silently pleaded, put that perfumed spell upon me, don't brush against me with your silken hair, _don't _make me feel those haunting lips on me skin again. Sarah was a strong girl, but he was stronger still, and his temptations were becoming too much to bear. "What I ask for in return _still _benefits you."

"What..."

Jareth shaped a cup out of her small hands, placing the glowing bubble inside, his own fingers under hers, staying close. "Have all your beautiful dreams, my love, your _wonderful _dreams..." Sarah had not meant to look, but she could _see _it: her name in lights, a brilliant career as the greatest actress in a generation...accolades and awards, her face on every magazine on every corner shelf. And Karen and Toby and her father, all happy, all smiling and proud! To have it _all_, all coming true, what would she _give_ to- "And when your heart is full and content and you've had it all..." He tilted her chin up, away from the hypnotizing glow of the crystal. "Then _come _to me...give yourself to me in body, mind and _soul. Worship _me, as I do you..." With her head still tilted, he sank his mouth freely to the white, soft skin of her throat, breathing in the essence of her flesh, grating her irresistibly with his lips and teeth so that she gasped and quivered at the very faintest motion. "It is a _service _to you – an endless eternity of love..." He sucked softly upon her. "And making love..."

_Fear me, love me. Do as I say and I will be your _slave-

Did he...did he mean it? And did she even _want _it. For the briefest of moments, she could almost see it, see herself laid out on a brocade chaise dripping in so many fineries as to dazzle the senses, and Jareth – handsome, magnificent, _otherworldly –_ sat beside her and playing to her every whim in an _ecstasy _of adoration as she piled him with her own kisses and affections. God, she trembled inside. There was _no _guarantee that that was how life would be with him, but even so... Something out of a bad romance novel, or something some part of her wanted, she had _no _idea which.

With only the greatest forbearance and strength of will did Sarah manage to hiss through gritted teeth, "You don't know the first _thing _about love, not _real _love!"

"Tsk." He did not stop, _would _not stop, lowering his head further so that he may tease the joining of her collarbone. Sarah's hands wanted to move to his shoulders, but she stood stock still, teeth biting _painfully _into her lower lip, clutching the crystal tightly. "A common bit of human hubris, the idea that only _their _type of love is real or possible...is it not _loving_ of me to offer you a chance that a thousand girls would not hesitate to take!"

"Then pick _those _girls, Jareth."

"I've already told you, _dearest_, I cannot." His annoyance overpowered his desire, and he stood tall, glaring into her eyes that glared right back at him. "And besides...how boring, simple minded little fools – not that _you _are making yourself seem so wise, even by comparison."

"You smug, arrogant-"

"Reject your dreams, if that's what you _want_. I defy you, throw the crystal to the dogs, let it smash into a million pieces on the earth. Become some..._house wife _to whatever drab little boy you find on this campus. And when you are _fat _from bearing his children, and wrinkled and old and cross – you will look back on this night, and remember that _I _offered you _palaces_ – glittering balls and a thousand envious eyes all watching you, all wanting to _be _you. Drive your squalling band of little _brats _over hill and dale, unappreciated, unadorned, when _I _would have made you the Goblin Queen. You'll be a disgusting, _mortal _creature, when I would have made you eighteen and _glittering _for all eternity. Who will want you _then_, Sarah?"

It was certainly a reason for pause, his scathing rebuke of plain domesticity, of what her life might very well amount to if she did _not _capture those elusive dreams. And yet it was not with horror that she was arrested, looking deep into his pale, predacious face. She actually breathed softly and felt some small sense of..._wonder _at the scene. "You know what, Jareth..." with a sigh, she shook her head, taking his strong, gloved hand and gently placing the crystal within his palm. "As _stupid _as this sounds, I think you would." His cold eyes twitched. "I don't know if it's because you're just _stubborn_, or _vicious_, but I think you'd claw me from the arms of a man I'd spent my whole life with, reorder time and bring me back to this very moment, and make me choose again. And what's even stupider is..." She brushed her long hair from her eyes, felt him watching her with _serious _tension. "I don't know if it would be because you'd be positively gleeful at stealing every cherished memory from me, or because you..._love _me that much, in some...truly disturbing and – can we be frank? - not at _all _sane or rational way. I have _no clue_ whether that means you love me or you hate me, or even which one is _worse_! I don't know if this is some..._goblin, faerie _thing, or it's just _you_ being a psychopath! _I don't know._" She sighed again, at last about to meet his cold and frozen gaze. "Maybe that's what love is to you, maybe I should feel _flattered_-"

There was a sudden _crinch_ sound of breaking glass, Sarah gasped a little, looked up into his face. The Goblin King had not been _enjoying _this monologue of hers, had found it neither complimentary nor encouraging, if his mouth – twisted into a cold, snarling frown – was any indication. "Don't presume," he hissed. The crystal had cracked in the tightness of his grip, looked about ready to shatter apart at any moment.

"J-Jareth..."

"Are you _quite _finished, little dear? I have been fully deferential, but this..._mocking _sentimentality will not be born."

"_I didn't_-"

"_Enough_." He let the ball drop to the ground, Sarah watched it crash into dazzling lights and seem to evaporate from the earth. She gulped a little and backed up as the Goblin King stalked forward, eyes like a dark, cold and starless sky, _boring _into her. Her back hit a tree and her feet dug into the soft soil. "If my _generosity _is so flattering, so _amusing _to you, perhaps I might get a lark out of your own, _hm_?"

"S-stop it!"

"I _know _how you love playing the little hero, my sweet darling. And so that is my last offer for you."

Sarah stole some of her mettle back, standing up a little straighter, though the bark of the tree was still digging into her back. "What in the _hell _are you talking about?" All the while, she clung to one, simple word: _last_. Last offer, was he giving up, at least for now if not forever?

Jareth did not seem to care if her voice was a little stronger, a little bolder; he leaned over her, his hands resting on the trunk of the tree above her head. It about put her on eye level with his throat, his hips grazing hers in agonizing lightness, and Sarah was sure all that had been his intent. "_You _know what it's like when foolish young children make reckless wishes, hm? And knowing your sharp little tongue, I'm certain you'd upbraid me for merely doing what I'm asked – so I'm giving you the chance to stop it."

"Jareth, you're...what?"

His hands slid down and held her by the shoulders, _tightly_. "Save all those _poor, hapless _little children from the nasty Goblin King you loathe so much, my love."

"Stop it, you're hurting me-"

Deaf to any words but those he wanted to hear, he leaned in closer, so that his teeth gleamed viciously in the dull light of the blackened night. "I'll be the one who grants their wishes..._you _be the sweet, benevolent Goblin Queen who intercedes on their behalf, hm? Clearly you love Greek tragedy – be my _Persephone_."

"That is _twisted_!"

"In fact, I am so-" and this word he spit with clear anger and frustration, "-_generous_, I will even give you a clue on how to begin." One of his hands moved to her chin, held it there tightly, ignoring her soft, whimpered protests. The fey held her there viciously, demanding she meet him eye to ethereal eye. Sarah could do nothing else, despite the fact she tried to blink, tried to look away. "I want to see those ivy colored eyes _wet _for me. Lay that little head upon my lap and _beg_ – 'Please, _Jareth_,'" and here he affected a slightly higher pitch, yet the sharpness, the gravel of his voice did not leave him. "'For _my _sake, I'll do _anything_ at all...' Anything at all."

There was, of a sudden, a bright, ringing sound, the note of flesh upon flesh; the Goblin King had been neglecting Sarah's hands this whole moment, so cocksure, so _vicious_. It was probably unwise of her, probably brazen and foolish, but it was not the first time she had acted thus, on this night or any other.

She had slapped him fully across the face.

Jareth was so taken aback by this that he actually let her go. It was possible he had...miscalculated. A light, a burning fire was raging in Sarah's eyes – he had not seduced her, cajoled her, or threatened her into changing her mind, not tonight.

"I'll give you this, _Goblin Jerk_," she hissed, inarticulate in her moment of fierce passion. "You _are _great, and you _do _scare the hell out of me – but I am _not _some damsel in distress, I am _not _a child, and I am _not your Queen_." Jareth glowered at her, still holding his face in a wound that was far more about his pride than his flesh. "I wish you would come see the end of the play, Jareth."

His unnatural eyes narrowed, flashing gold in the low light. "Oh? And why is that?"

"_Because_," Sarah hissed, stomping forward towards him as recklessly as she had in his crumbling Labyrinth, yet even more sure and strong now. "The girl _wins_ – and _he doesn't_." Very briefly, their eyes met in a blaze of light and fury. She did not notice it at that time, but in the days, the weeks, the thirteen seasons that would follow, Sarah would reflect that behind the indignant rage in his mis-colored eyes, Jareth's look bore a kind of...fulsome pride. "You still have no power over me."

OvO

"Ohmigawd, _Sarah_."

"What is it?" She looked up from the stack of playbills she had been handling, noticing the dumbstruck look on her young friend's face.

"Check out the hottie at the ticket booth!"

"What?" Sarah cocked an eyebrow, craning her neck to see to whom the silly college girl could be referring. The two stood by the theater doors, dressed in matching outfits of black and white, their duty to serve as ushers as members of the theater department. Sarah, however, was the far calmer, nonplussed of the two. On tip toe, peering through the dense pack of theater goers, she could barely make out the turned back of a tall gentleman, golden blond hair slicked back. It was all she saw. "Whatever, you're seeing things."

"Uh, no. You just need to get your head examined. I can't wait to see how Michael does tonight, everyone's been saying he's great!"

"He's something, alright..." Sarah was listening, but still found herself distracted, eyes scanning the crowd. The blessings of an evening performance – even for the annual children's production – meant that most of those in attendance were local theater aficionados, students, or much _older _families. It was a relief to not be thronged by hoards of screaming children. But devastatingly handsome men in the audience? Unlikely.

With a sudden gasp, Sarah's friend grabbed her arm. "_See_!" she almost squealed, tapping her heels together in excitement. "There he is!"

Sarah really saw no one out of the ordinary until the gentleman in question stood before her. "Excuse me," he said, clearing his throat with a soft, low-tenor sound. "Good evening."

"U-uh...hi." She looked up at him – tall, inordinately tall. Dressed so smartly, black coat, black slacks, black shoes that were at such a glossy shine Sarah was sure she could see her eyes reflected there. He had sharp features, like he were made of cut glass, a mess of blond hair gently waved back on his head. And...a pair of...mismatched eyes? She felt a lump in the bottom of her stomach.

He was holding out a hand to her, gloves still on to protect strong hands from the biting cold outside. "May I have a program, please."

"S-sure..."

"Thank you, Sarah."

"H-how do you know my name!"

"You're wearing a name tag." _Oh God_. She couldn't possibly be this paranoid. Was this his idea of revenge, turning her into a raving lunatic? Her friend stared at her with a look she knew all to plainly read, "What in the hell is your problem?"

The gentleman merely dug a hand into his pocket, retrieving a small stub, smiling _so _calmly and so self-assuredly. "In any case, here's my ticket. I don't suppose you could direct me to the seat, it's my first time seeing a performance here."

Unhelpfully, Sarah's friend discretely elbowed her in the ribs, giggling incessantly. "Yeah, no problem..." Without a backward glanced, Sarah weaved through the crowd of art patrons. She knew he was right behind her, and she just really didn't want to turn around and see it. Her cheeks felt impossibly red, but with the press of bodies all around her, jostling for their places, perhaps it wasn't such a surprise. "Okay, so here we are, row G, seat...thirteen..."

"Thank you. You've been most helpful." His hand was out to her. Sarah felt sure time had stopped; no one else existed in the auditorium, no noise but a buzzing in her ears, for in his outstretched palm was a...a crystal?

_"__You invited me back, did you not_?"

"...arah? Miss, Sarah?" She remembered to breathe again, found herself looking up into his disturbingly handsome, unreal face. "Are you alright?"

"What? No! I mean, yes, I mean...I'm fine."

"I was asking if I could give you a tip."

"W-we're...really not supposed to-"

"Please." He had seized her hand in his, opening it up and pressing the small handful of bills she didn't even think to identify into her open palm. "It's good to be generous." She bit her lip, feeling sweat beginning to drip down the back of her neck. The stranger smiled down at her, disturbing eyes half closed, voice low. "Who knows – perhaps one day you'll be giving something to me." Sarah could feel blood on the tip of her tongue from her teeth digging into the soft flesh of her mouth. "Well, I thank you." With a smooth, graceful motion, he sat, laying a heavy black coat on the empty seat beside him. And was a...feather on the cuff? "I intend to enjoy this."

A small, squeaking sound escaped Sarah's lips by way of acknowledgment, and she hurried back up the aisle in small, frantic steps, face still red. Her waiting companion had her hands on her hips, brow crossed. "Jeeze, Sarah, what the heck was that?"

"It was _nothing._"

"Figures the hot guy bee-lines straight toward you, anyway. I don't get _how _you keep pushing guys away like this."

"He just-!...he reminded me of someone I know."

"What, someone tall, smooth and _impossibly _sexy?"

"Something like that..."

"Ugh, typical Sarah." She seemed genuinely jealous. Sarah felt a twinge – she was certain it was a feeling of guilt, but for a moment it almost seemed to be pride – but that thought simply made her feel all the worse.

"_Ah, but you are prettier_..."

Sarah placed a cool hand to her hot cheek. She _hated _that man – so why was she so pleased to be thought of as so beautiful – especially by...him? Ugh, this was _insanity_.

"_I intend to enjoy this_."

"I bet you will, Goblin King..."

"Sarah?" If her friend was truly envious, she seemed to have dropped it for the moment, peering up at her with concern. "You say something?"

"What? No. Talking to myself."

"The house lights are going down." Indeed they were, a hush fell over a waiting and expectant audience. Sarah peered through the darkness at her spot by the door, yet somehow...she felt she didn't need to focus her attention on the play, and could not have, even if she tried.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.: **Well, right now I'm caving into peer pressure and writing a continuation of "The Riddle." I have virtually _no_ idea what to do with it: I had some other possible "Labyrinth" projects planned, but goodness knows "The Riddle" was fun to do, and if people want to see more of it, I'm not unhappy to oblige. But this is all I came up with, and being mostly comedic, I'm not sure if it even fits. I've maybe been reading too much of the great fanfiction this community produces, because I might have made Jareth too...soft. I want to be taken to task if that's the case. If you people want more after this, you'd better start writing to me, because I don't know what happens next, _I _thought I was writing a one-shot. Rated for a bit of language and a bit of adult touchy-touchy (you all wanted it, don't pretend).

So, another big thank you to my friend Chet for putting up with my lunacy and letting me bounce this off him. Since I gave a shoutout to user Tara1189 last time, it seems only fair to also say Subtilior rocks my world (and if you ever read this, Subtilior, please PM because I'm dying to talk to you about your stuff). I particularly recommend "Shards of a Dream."

And in case you guys start shouting "Update!" at me again, it may mollify you to know I got Chet to sign off on me actually doing a multi-chapter Labyrinth fic, despite the fact that that's insane for me to take on at my age, with my schedule. Whoops.

**The Riddle: That Moment of Reckoning**

OvO

_Through the mist your lover is beckoning_

_Comes that moment of reckoning:_

_Faces change_

_What we knew grows strange_

- "The Riddle," The Scarlet Pimpernel

OvO

Sarah rolled over with a groan when the overhead light turned on, her closed lids tightening over her eyes in protest. "What time is 't..." she muttered, groggy, her long, dark hair knotted in strange angles from her fitful sleep.

"Almost 8:30." Her roommate, Kara, was annoyingly alert for the hour, finishing with the last of the buttons on her peach colored blouse. Sarah grimaced, rubbed her tired face; she always hated that shirt... "You'd better get up if you want to be ready by the time your folks get here."

With a yawn, Sarah swung her legs over the edge of her lofted bed, bare feet dangling in the air. "You sure you won't stay?" she asked Kara, scratching her nails through her dry scalp. "I'm sure Dad will treat you to lunch..."

The young woman snorted, running a comb through her own thick, red locks. "I wouldn't stay for Parents Weekend for all the world; all the over bearing families come to nag their kids? No thanks."

"Hm," she replied, starting to wake up, slowly sliding herself off her bed and to the floor.

"I'd _much _rather spend the weekend with Ben." Ben, her Senior boyfriend. Kara had been spending so much time at his apartment, it was almost like Sarah had booked a single dorm room – not that she was complaining. "Are you doing alright?"

"What?" Sarah was surprised by her sudden concern, her hands pawing and fumbling with the tiny coffee maker.

"Well, you were talking in your sleep again." As the girl flushed and turned her attention to the dinged coffee pot, Kara smiled and pressed on. "Sounded like you were having _fun, _though, Sarah."

"Alright, alright..."

"Whoever this Jared guy is, you must have it for him _bad_!"

"Jared?" Sarah blinked, grabbing for the coffee grounds, staring at her.

"Well, I think that's what you said. Definitely a J name. So, who is he, Sarah, hm? Some dream boat in your Methods class?"

"If you want to get out of here before the families start arriving, you'd better hurry!"

Kara just laughed and grabbed her duffel bag, waving a dismissive hand at Sarah. "Sure thing, honey. Go ahead and call me at Ben's place if you need anything. Ta-ta!" Sarah sighed when she heard the click of the dorm door closing; Kara was fine, as far as roommates went. She was quiet when she needed to study, had obligingly even watched her practice her monologues and parts for the theater department, but the two could hardly be called close. Perhaps it was just as well she wasn't staying for the weekend? After all, Karen might try to force them into being bosom buddies. She recognized her step-mother's meddling was done out of concern, convinced her husband's daughter was never going to have a normal, teenage life, but it could still be irritating.

But she was certainly right about one thing...she wasn't normal.

Sarah caught her own glance in the only mirror in the room, scratched from years of use. Her hair bedraggled and sticking out in odd places, her eyes puffy with lack of sleep: she stuck her tongue out at herself deprecatingly. Yet even so...she found something compelling about her appearance, such as it was, and smirked in a little self-satisfaction.

_"__Don't deny you flatter yourself at night, combing that long, dark hair in front of the mirror. 'The girl with the unearthly glow around her, so haunting, _so_beautiful.'"_

Sarah shivered at the sudden memory that came to her, unbidden. Did he have to be so _right _all the time? She shivered, also, in memory of how his voice and hands slid over her skin in a haunting caress; the look, the fiery, _passionate _look in his unearthly eyes as he stared into her face – the knowledge that it was for _her_, for her alone. This was a power she _did not _want, and yet she had it all the same...and she hated the way it thrilled her to the core, the way it made her stomach twist in lusty excitement. Sarah Williams, the bewitcher of a the powerful Goblin King...who would have dared imagine it? Not her, not even in her vainest of moments – which, she reminded herself with a short nod, were not as often as the Goblin _Jerk _claimed they were. She was only human, after all, surely she was allowed the _occasional _weakness?

Mm, no. Not when it came to Jareth – he exploited those too readily.

Jareth...Where had he gone to? Sarah felt sure he had not given up, it simply wasn't in his nature, and besides, he had told her he would not. What was it he had said? "Struggle as you like, for I will _never _stop." She could not believe much of the lying trickster, but that she could not help but believe. So where was it he had disappeared to, after the play – if that really was him, and of _course _it was. It was just his style to come sauntering up out of nowhere, flashing his crooked smile and making every other girl in the room sigh with longing. The egotistical philanderer. He had another thing coming if he thought _that _would make her want to be a-

"Goblin Queen..." She hadn't realized it at first, but she said the words aloud, felt the way they rested on her lips and tongue. Strange...they almost seemed to make her mouth tingle. Words have meaning, she remembered...She had been on edge since them, waiting for him around every corner – but he never appeared; except, of course, in her dreams...always him and the dreams, it was a regular thing. And it must have been bad for Kara to continually comment on it. Damn him and his perfect, haunting face, his miscolored eyes, that _voice_, those _hands_...

"Stop it, Sarah," she told herself in the mirror, features set. "You have to get ready for Dad and Karen. And Toby." Ah, Toby, that made her smile. Whatever else the day held, it also included the promise of seeing Toby, and _that, _she had proved time and time again, was worth anything. With a smile, she picked up her boar bristle brush and set about beating her hair into submission.

OvO

Sarah waved her arm above her head in greeting as the brown station wagon pulled into the lot; she had been able to tame her appearance somewhat, dark hair laying dutifully under a black hat to protect her from the November chill. Practically as soon as the car had come to a stop, a door had opened and Toby had flung himself out, rushing at her with full speed. She could only manage a great "Oof!" of greeting as he knocked the air from her, arms wound tightly round her waist.

"_Sarah_!" he squealed in childish glee! "Did you miss me, do you have any presents for me? The drive was _so long_, and Mom wouldn't play the David Bowie tape you gave me, because _she _says that music's too old for me, but _I _said it's cool, and-"

"Okay, kiddo..." Sarah wheezed, barely able to pry her half-brother off. "I'm happy to see you too."

"Toby," Karen was scolding, at last catching up, along with a very harried looking Robert. "You know better than to get out of the car before we've put it in park!"

"But I wanted to see _Sarah_," he whined

Karen was sighing, elegant in her wool coat, edged with soft grey fur. She was the same put-upon woman Sarah remembered, but she smiled anyway. "Hi, guys. Safe drive up?"

"Safe enough, when your father paid attention to the speed limit."

"Now honey, you know I have to go with the flow of traffic-"

"Why don't we get in out of the cold..." Sarah offered wearily, holding Toby's hand; the last thing she wanted to do was sit with her arguing family on her precious Saturday. Perhaps Kara had had the right idea. "Then we can talk about what we're doing for lunch." It was agreed upon that this was an excellent idea, and the quartet started the walk back to Sarah's dorm through the aching cold.

"We're not keeping you from getting your assignments done, are we, Sarah?"

"No," she said, perhaps partially honestly. "I got most everything done before you arrived."

"How are your classes."

"Fine."

"I don't suppose you've changed your mind about studying theater?"

"_No_, Dad."

"Meeting anyone nice?" the step-mother interjected.

"Er...in what way?"

"I just meant," Karen sighed, adjusting her hair against the whipping of the wind. "At your age, you should be meeting some gentle-"

"_Hi, Sarah_!" The young woman sighed with relief, blowing a stray lock of brown hair from her face. Saved – by good old Barbara, waving at her from across the field, arm in arm with Michael. The pair walked up to her, smiling, rosy-cheeked. "Oh, is your family here for Parents Weekend?"

"That's right," Robert replied, offering his hand with a smile. Giggling with delight at his soft manners, Barbara happily accepted. "Who are your friends, Sarah?"

"Dad, Karen, this is Barbara and this is Michael. I wrote to you about him, he was the one in the play-"

"The _star _of the play," he corrected, young ego bursting out of his grin.

Sarah just rolled her eyes. "Guys, this is my dad, and Karen, and this is Toby." Toby had shyly hidden himself behind his sister's leg. "Well, go on, Tobe, say hello." Toby would not, instead, ducking further behind her.

Barbara was giggling again. "Oooh, he's so _cute_! I wish I had a cute little brother like that!"

"How about settling for me?" Michael purred, proffering his cheek for a kiss. Barbara just smacked him on the shoulder with her mittened hand instead.

"We'll be going to lunch later," Mr. Williams was politely continuing. "We'd be happy to take Sarah's friends along."

"Oh, no thanks, Mr. Williams! Michael and I are going to have...do some studying later! Well, bye, Sarah," the chem student was giggling again, her boyfriend's arm around her waist. "We're off to the Union to get coffee. For our studying."

"Yeah, sounds awesome..." With a wave and well-wishes all around, the pair departed, leaving Sarah to groan at their lovey-dovey display. _Disgusting_...

Karen, it seemed, however, had the opposite opinion, sighing: "How sweet, young love."

"Mhm. Let's get out of the cold, I swear I can't feel my bu-"

"Don't you want that, Sarah?"

"What?" She was shuffling off in the direction of her dorm building again, her family following like ducks in a line. Trust Karen and all her romance novels to focus on _that_, rather than Sarah's dreams of a career and stardom and success. "Not top on my list of concerns right now."

"Oh, come now, you're only young once." Sarah unlocked the front door with a swipe of her card, trying to ignore Karen's speech as she led them to her tiny room. "Have to seize the adventure while you can, right, Robert?"

"No. Sarah, focus on your studies."

"Okay, Dad."

"_Robert_!"

"What!"

"Adventures are _awesome_," Toby offered, trying to be helpful, as Sarah shut the squeaky door behind her, suddenly glad Kara hadn't stayed for the weekend – the small room was crowded enough with just herself and her wacko family.

"I just mean I want you to have a _normal, healthy _life!"

"And I appreciate it – really."

Karen sighed. "Oh, alright. Never did listen to a word I had to say."

"Now, Karen..."

"I just wish...well, I wish you'd meet some nice man, someone for you!"

No sooner had the words left her step-mother's lips, but there was a knock at the door.

OvO

They had moved to the common room, as her dorm was too small for _five _visitors crowding and shouting at once. Lucky for Sarah, it was empty, since most students left on weekends – the last thing she wanted was _any _witnesses to this embarrassing scene.

"I just don't like him, Karen!" Robert was hissing to his wife, one eye on the stranger the entire time he spoke, watching like a hawk.

"Now, Robert..."

"He's _way _too old for Sarah, for a start."

"Honey-"

"And for God's sake, look at his pants! _Who goes out in public in trousers like that_!"

_Sarah had been the one to answer the door, dreading with a prophetic knowing what she would find on the other side. _Of course _it had been him, leaning indolently on the jamb of the door, smiling that crooked, sharp smile of his. "Hello, precious thing," he purred in that damn voice of his. "Sorry I'm late."_

"Toby, my lad, how are you?" Jareth was seated on a threadbare lounge chair, long, thin hands rested on his knees. "You've grown so much since we last met."

"Huh?"

Sarah elbowed the Goblin King hard in the shoulder, making them both hiss. "I mean since the pictures your sister showed me."

"Oh." The usually shy Toby was bright-eyed with interest, staring up at this strange gentleman with unbridled curiosity. "I'm good."

_"__Sarah, who's that at the door?"_

_She tried to close it – Heaven help her, she did _try –_but Jareth had caught it in a swift, easy motion. "I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I, my sweet?"_

_Mr. Williams had gone completely grey. There was a strange man in his daughter's dorm room doorway, dressed in jeans so tight they could almost have been leggings; indolently wearing a sports coat and white shirt, a thin red tie hanging down from his elegant neck like he was the most lazy, slapdash fellow in the world. His platinum blond hair was combed back, but stuck out at odd angles. His eyebrows were sculpted or scarred into the posture of a bird of prey, and his eyes were mismatched – one blue, one a sort of golden brown. Perhaps worst of all, he had to be twenty years his little girl's senior. _

_"__Sarah," Karen was continuing, genuinely curious and with none of her husband's sense of dread. "Who's this young man."_

_Jareth smirked in a way that was only noticeable to Sarah, unused to being called "young." "Jareth King," he replied in a smooth, easy, even reassuring purr, putting out his hand. "I'm so pleased to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Williams."_

_"__The pleasures mutual," Robert lied. "I'm afraid Sarah hasn't mentioned you before..." _

_"_Baby_!" he scolded in a rough, low voice, slinking an arm around her waist as Sarah set her teeth in an obvious, growling grimace. "You great big tease. Not telling your parents about your _boyfriend_."_

"Would you like to see a magic trick?" the Goblin King was continuing, his eyes glittering with interest in Sarah's younger brother.

"_Jareth_," Sarah warned in a low, harsh voice. Toby nodded, wide eyed. "Toby, no you do not!"

"Do so," he murmured, gaze intent on Jareth. "I wanna see some magic."

"Very good," the older man sighed with obvious delight. "Now, watch closely." With a smooth wave of his elegant hands – for once, not in his trademark gloves – he pulled a crystal as if from thin air, the glittering globe setting calmly on the tips of his long fingers.

"_Wow_..." Toby breathed quietly, eyes fixed. "That was so cool!"

"Oh, that was nothing," the Goblin King assured him while Sarah stood as a fierce guardian, unmoving and unblinking. "I know all the tricks."

"_You're _not _my boyfriend!" she objected, trying to pull his arm from off her, but his grip merely tightened._

_In response, Jareth laughed, and Sarah had to note two things: one, the look of horror on her dear father's face; the other, the look of excitement on Karen's. "Oh, alright. Gentleman lover, if you prefer."_

_"_Excuse me_?"_

_"__Dad, it's really not-"_

_"__My, it's getting crowded in here!" Karen quickly interjected. "Maybe we should take this outside?"_

"Show me, show me!" Toby was chanting, supporting his weight with his hands on one of Jareth's legs as he bounced up and down on his toes. "I wanna see the magic!"

"Toby, stop!"

"It's quite alright, precious," he reassured her with a knowing, smirking glance. "You know how I love children."

"I swear, I am going to _hurt _you for th-"

"Look carefully." With an almost imperceptible move of his lithe fingers, Jareth sent the ball sliding up the back of his hand, up his arm, all the way up to his shoulders, running it back and forth with the greatest of ease. Toby giggled and clapped madly for each flourish.

Karen was half watching what she considered to be an _adorable _scene, and half listening to her husband. "He's being quite good with Toby."

"That fails to comfort me!"

"Well, really, Robert, what are you going to do? Tell Sarah no? You know how she gets when she's serious about something, she'll keep seeing him out of spite!" The poor businessman dropped his head into his dry hands with a groan at the thought of that.

"More, more!" Toby clapped, as the crystal spun and twisted and danced light as air on Jareth's skilled fingertips. "That is so _cool_."

"Would you like it?" the strange man suddenly offered, hand outstretched, the bubble resting carefully in the curve of his palm.

"You mean it?" Toby whispered in breathless adoration, reaching out for the offered treasure-

"_Toby, no_!"

Sarah's scream alerted everyone else: her parents stopped bickering and stared at her; Toby looked up with concern and confusion, still holding the crystal in his little hands. Jareth just watched her, looking as dazed as the others – but for the slightest of smirking smiles that ghosted across his lips. "No need for concern, Sarah," he assured after the lengthy silence, all eyes still on the strange girl, her green eyes wide in panic. "It's only glass. He can have it."

"Can I?" he was asking again. Sarah ran a hand through her silky locks and gave an audible, growling sigh.

"Of course, honey." This was from Karen, who briefly put a hand on her son's shoulder before cupping both of her palms together. "Mr. King?"

"Please, Mrs. Williams, call me Jareth."

She giggled, almost flirtatiously. "Well, then call me Karen."

He took one of her hands and kissed it. "Enchanté, madame." Karen almost shrieked with giddy giggles. Sarah and her father watched on in stupefied horror while Toby just stuck his tongue out.

"We were all going to go out to lunch together. Would you care to join us?"

"_No_!" Sarah shouted.

His voice was quieter, but seemed the easier to hear, as simultaneously, Jareth purred, "It would be an absolute privilege."

"Great," Robert grumbled, getting out his keys and teeth as set as his daughter's, grinding dangerously. "Let's all go, then."

OvO

Sarah was having a hard time eating. If she'd been her normal, alert self, she might have noted her father seemed to be suffering from a similar bout of indigestion, and the observation might have comforted her. As it was, it did little to help her, because the rest of the guests at the table were having none of the father-daughter's problems: Toby was absolutely charmed with Jareth, stuffing french fries into his mouth without even looking at them, little blue eyes set on what had to be his new favorite person ever (except for maybe Sarah and Mom and Dad. And Santa). Karen was her happy, chatty self, always comfortable in social situations, unlike the rest of the Williams clan. What Sarah found herself focusing on most, however, was Jareth's hands. It was strangely...intimate to see him without his gloves on. They appeared normal, the skin pale like the rest of him, with no marks or scars or blemishes. The fingers were long and tapered, the kind of elegant hands one might expect of an aristocrat. They held his fork or his water glass with the ease of someone perfectly comfortable in their surroundings, while Sarah was surprised her glass hadn't broken with the pressure of her tense grip.

What she hated most, however, was that she remembered the way those hands had stroked her face in a gentle caress...or in her dreams, when they twisted softly in her-

"So, how long have you two known each other!" Karen was sighing over what she perceived to be an adorable instance of young love. Robert mashed his fork into his potatoes and ground his teeth.

"Oh, years," Jareth smiled, slipping his right arm around Sarah, who jumped slightly – not leastwise because her father had perked up, eyes narrowed in a dangerous expression every daughter knows: the kind that reads, "So help me, I will get the shotgun."

Sarah elbowed him hard with her left arm, hissing. "It just _feels _like that sometimes, _Jareth_."

He dropped his arm from around her slim shoulders – but not before letting his bare hand trail down her back to play with the barely exposed skin where her shirt pulled away from her jeans. She tried to hide the way that made her jump. _Oh, his hands are warm_! "How right you are, precious thing."

"And what is it you do for a living, _Jareth_?" Robert was asking, dabbing at his mouth with his napkin before wadding it up into a tight, angry ball and tossing it back into his lap.

"I'm in politics, Mr. Williams." Sarah tried hard not to snort.

"What, on the local level?"

"Something like that."

"And you like children?" Karen interjected, going down her own mental list of what qualities she would accept in the lover of her step-daughter.

"Oh, _absolutely_," Jareth smiled at her. He seemed to know how to play Karen like a harp, and Sarah found it _pissed her off_. The Goblin King must have noticed, because he caught her glance with the corners of his odd eyes and smirked at her. "You could say I'm a...child lobbyist."

"A _what_?"

"Jareth," Karen was continuing, tapping a few fingers against her chin in thought. "It's such a unique name. Is it Danish?"

"I don't think so..."

"Why don't you tell them what you _do _as a lobbyist, _honey_."

"I think they would find that quite _boring_, _precious_."

"That is such an _adorable _pet name," Karen was sighing, a hand to her cheek. Jareth flashed her another one of his seductive smiles. Sarah hit him under the table.

"I'm glad you've found such...rewarding work," Mr. Williams was continuing, attempting to be pragmatic. "But I think you should know that Sarah – Toby, eat your vegetables-"

"But they're gross!"

"-That Sarah needs to finish her school work before she enters a...serious relationship."

"You don't need to worry on that score, Mr. Williams," Jareth smoothly replied, draping his arm around Sarah's shoulders and pulling her close, so that she squirmed and went red with embarrassment or rage – or maybe a little of both. "I keep offering to take her away and treat her like a queen, without a care in the world, but she always rejects me."

"Can't imagine why..." Sarah muttered through gritted teeth, trying to use her arms as a wedge to separate the two of them. Jareth only tightened his grip, _clearly _enjoying the hell out of her discomfort.

"I'll put her away in a castle where she'll never have to lift a finger again," he cooed, nuzzling his face into her hair while Sarah continued trying to push him off. "Just my glittering little jewel to love and admire and-"

"That's unacceptable!" The table stopped its mad chatter and stared at Mr. Williams, who was indignantly red, hands resting as fists on the table. "My Sarah is a strong, independent girl – I'm not going to have her throw away all that to be some...put away housewife without pursuing her dreams, whether she's treated like a queen or not! She's a person, not a..._precious thing_.She's too tough and talented to give up."

"Robert..."

"Dad?"

"Really, Mr. Williams?" Jareth was not at all upset, sitting back, observing the man across the table with careful, practiced ease. "I'd have thought you'd be on my side. After all, Sarah's only pursuing a degree in theater."

"It's not _only_ theater." Sarah realized her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn't help it. "Sarah is going to be a _great _actress."

The young Miss Williams actually dropped her fork. "D-Daddy..." All the months of arguments, all the disparaging comments about being a starving artist and having a back-up plan – did he really think-?

Her father seemed to calm slightly, smoothing back his sparse hair and smiling a bit at his only daughter. "Even greater than your mother, pumpkin."

Jareth was leaning back in his chair, quietly sipping his water, but Sarah could see what no one else did as she turned to watch his smooth movement – he was wearing, on that thin, crooked mouth, a self-satisfied _smirk_. "I'm with you, sir," the Goblin King replied, just barely repressing the purr in his soft voice. "I am _all _about pursuing dreams."

The server picked a fine time to appear to clear plates. "Can I interest anyone in dessert?"

Toby's hand shot up. "Me! Me, me, me, me-"

Jareth had slipped the dessert menu from the young woman's hands, wrapping his arm around Sarah again, ostensibly to share the menu. Her head was swimming far too much to even begin to protest. And she was remembering that unearthly quality to his scent, and she felt as though her brain was pounding. "Look, love," he told her softly, holding up the menu card while Sarah had to ruminate on those soft, smooth hands of his again. "They have a peach cobbler."

"Oh, Sarah used to love peaches!" Karen pipped in, extremely glad that the topic of dessert had ended what could have been an argument with her prospective son-in-law.

"_Used _to."

"I'll split it with you."

"Not if it were the last dessert on earth."

"_Dad_," Toby was whining, blue eyes wide and utterly pathetic. "Can I get ice cream?"

Sigh. "Toby, you'll get sick on the car ride back."

"Will not, will not!"

"Best listen to your father, young Toby," Jareth was saying in that smooth, dulcet way of his, a way that seemed to _guarantee_ Toby would listen to him. "The next time you come, I'll host you, and give you all the ice cream you could ask for." He ignored Sarah's blanching, still locked in his arms.

"Let's go to your house right now!"

"_No_!" she shouted, gripping the table, and it even caught her father by surprise. _Great, they think I'm insane_...

"Why not..." Toby whined, able to ignore the question of his sister's mental state in favor of getting ice cream.

"Yes, why not, Sarah?" Jareth grinned at her, ignoring the way she was glaring at him with her fetching green eyes – a look that said, "I'm going to get you for all this..."

Sarah took a deep breath (still being held by her "lover"), flipping her long, dark hair and calling on her improv skills to get her out of this _nightmare _of a lunch. "Well...you never clean it. It looks like goblins nest there."

"_Cool_!"

Jareth's eyes twitched and narrowed – not quite dangerously, not quite appreciatively. Somewhere in between. "Perhaps I simply require the _feminine touch _to help me with it." Without warning, the Goblin King laid his palm on her knee, sliding it up her thigh so that Sarah nearly jolted straight out of her chair. He allowed himself to whisper in her ear, because he knew Karen would stop anyone else's protests. "And to help me with _other things_..." he hissed to her, dragging his teeth every so slightly along her ear lobe. Without hesitation, Sarah smacked his hand away and elbowed him in the stomach again, ignoring the way her own insides fluttered at his touch. Jareth made a slight grunting noise, but seemed no more put out than that.

Karen was giggling gleefully again, handing her _very _annoyed husband the check. "Oh, it starts so early, doesn't it! Just wait, Jareth, she'll be picking out new clothes for you next."

"If we're lucky..." Robert muttered under his breath.

"Well, Mrs. Williams, while my Sarah has _many _talents, I'm afraid I do trump her when it comes to a sense of style." Sarah rolled her eyes and Jareth pulled her in close again. "So perhaps it will go the other way round and _I _will be picking out new things for _her_, hm?"

Sarah and her father answered – both emphatically and simultaneously - "_No_."

OvO

Toby seemed determined not to release Sarah from his crushing embrace until it was absolutely necessary. For her part, she didn't mind, hugging her baby brother tightly to her. "Alright, Tobe," she at last said in a wheezing sigh. "Make sure you stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Okay," he replied, rubbing his red cheeks, sad to go home. "Can I come back and see you soon?"

"Sure you can."

"Will Jareth be here?"

"Um..." The Goblin King straightened, his wily smile widening. "I really don't kn-"

"Will you bring him when you come home for Thanksgiving!"

"Toby, no!"

"_Please_, Sarah? I really wish you would!" Sarah smacked her palm to her forehead, groaning. The fey trickster's monstrous grin had widened, displaying his pointed teeth.

Robert Williams came to the rescue, putting his hand between his little son's shoulder blades and gently pressing him forward. "Toby, get in the car."

"Aw, man..."

"Bye, pumpkin," Robert sighed as the younger child dragged himself into the back seat. Wrapping his arms around his little girl, he hugged her to him. "Be good, alright?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Good girl." He paused, and placed a kiss upon her warm forehead. "Remember that I'm proud of you – whatever you choose to do with your life."

Sarah blushed, still wrapping her head around the day. "I-I'll remember."

Squeezing her arm, he turned and took the Goblin King by the palm in a manly handshake. "Again, nice to meet you, Jareth. And, um..."

"Hm?" He quirked up one pale, oddly shaped eyebrow.

"...maybe consider going one size up – in pants, I mean."

Without hesitation, that grin slowly spread across his sharp features once more. "Not to worry, sir, it won't affect my ability to create grandchildren for you."

"_Jareth_!"

"Ahem, yes..." Robert took back his hand, looking no more comforted. "Well...better hit the road, traffic..." With a knowing, serious look to Sarah (a look that absolutely forbade grandchildren in the near future), he slid into the driver's seat, and the family waved goodbye to the pair, left standing in the parking lot.

"Your step-mother seems to like me," Jareth remarked smoothly, pushing his hands into the pockets of that black, wool coat he'd worn before, in the theater; he was wearing gloves again, of course, those smooth black leather ones – but in this cold, it made sense to do so. "I could almost imagine her picking out colors for the wedding."

Sarah sighed, shaking her head while she tried to adjust her hat, watching the fading lights of the brown station wagon as it drove further and further away. "Knowing Karen, you're probably right." Turning to return to the peace and quiet – _at last –_ of her little dorm room, Sarah scowled when she noticed Jareth wheeling to follow her. "_What _are you doing?"

"Following your lead, my beloved."

"Uh, no. You've had your fun: Karen's going to bug me about you for the next ten thousand years, and I think you took a decade off my dad's life. Party's over."

"Ah." The Goblin King stood there, staring at her with an intensity that made her shiver from more than the cold, those miscolored eyes _boring _into her. "I am not invited, then?"

"You were never invited in the first place!"

"As you wish, Sarah."

"...wait, seriously?"

"Mhm." Jareth nodded, running his gloved fingers through his hair so that it was no longer plastered to his gaunt head, starting to return to some of its light form and shape. "Go on. I won't try to stop you."

"...right. Well, night, Goblin King. Thanks for not making this a hassle, for once." And Sarah turned round, and walked away.

...and he didn't stop her. She couldn't believe it; no grabbing, no threatening, no...mystical treadmills. She was sure she would have felt relieved to know he was giving up – at least for the moment (Thanksgiving was going to be another problem completely) – and yet, she couldn't deny there was a certain...pang in her chest. Disappointment? Like most girls, Sarah _did _want to be thought of as pretty, beautiful even, but she had no desire to be a heart breaker about it. Whatever Jareth said, she wasn't that vain or selfish. So if someone had been into her and then moved on, she had always been relieved that they found happiness...but hated herself for also feeling a little disappointed as well. All of Jareth's talk from that night, about her being carved from the mists of time just to be his mate...well, maybe she should think of this as a relief. He couldn't have meant it if he was really letting her go that easily.

Or – and damn, she really didn't want to think of this – he was actually _listening _to her for a change, and respecting her wishes when she told him to leave her alone. Could she trust Jareth to take a freaking hint?

...she _really _doubted it.

Still, she was relieved to be out of the cold when she got into the snugly warmth of her dorm building, slowly pulling the hat from off her head, the static of the dry weather making hair fly away at odd angles. Relieved that, despite everything, her family's visit had gone relatively smoothly, relieved that she could get back to focusing on studying, that she would have the room to herself all weekend-

Sarah had unlocked the door, it swung open easily – and just as easily, there sat Jareth, King of the Goblins, seeming to be holding court amongst her books and papers at her desk chair, as regal at the University as he was in the Labyrinth. "_What-_" she started, balling up her hat and preparing to use it as a missile in his direction.

He held up one gloved hand to stay her rage, an unholy amount of merriment shining in those _stupid _eyes of his. "I did _think _about going, Sarah, love," he purred in a voice she was sure he meant to be soothing, but instead it riled her all the more. "Respecting my Lady's wishes, and all that – but that's just it: it _wasn't _your wish."

"Oh, _come on_!" She really did toss the hat at him now, and he caught it in one easy motion of his right hand, twirling it on his fingers until Sarah was forced to watch him spin it into a new object altogether: it dripped from his fingers as a long, slinky slip, edged around with lace that dipped at the bodice in suggestive ways. "That is absolutely _insane_!" A pause. "And I _liked _that hat, Jareth, you tremendous asshole!"

"Tsk, love, there's no need for such hysterics. Come to me." He opened one arm to her, patting his knee with his other palm, a playful lustiness glinting in his otherworldly eyes. Sarah did not move. "Well, if it upsets you _that_ much, I shall of course get you all the hats you could ever ask for."

"_Not the damn point right now_," she hissed, feeling her jaw ache with how tightly she was clenching her teeth.

"My sweet," Jareth was purring again, standing and sauntering over to her, an annoying self-assurance and seductive tone in his voice and his eyes. "You're so _tense_. Let me help you to _relax_."

She quickly batted his gloved hand away. "I am _not _in the mood for this."

"I can change that..."

"_Up yours, _Jareth."

"I hope you don't insist. I had so many other fun...adventures in mind." The _furious _Sarah Williams seemed on the verge of striking him again, yet fearlessly, the Goblin King leaned down to be on her level, smirking all the while. "And besides, I got to thinking – Sarah's roommate out of town. Sweet little Sarah, all alone in this cozy little room. My precious thing, how she might need _companionship_-"

"I am _not_ having sex with you."

He pursed his lips a little, though how he could have been surprised by that answer, Sarah had no idea. "Pity, why ever not."

"Uh, because if _my _roommate banged an inter-dimensional magic being on every surface of this room, I would be righteously pissed!"

"_Every _surface? I see you're getting into the spirit of the thing."

"_Jareth_," Sarah snapped again, ripping off her winter coat and only barely having time to be annoyed as she watched one of the old wood buttons go flying across the room from the force of it. "Are you really this fucking _dense_? Do you seriously not know why I'm mad at you right now!"

He straightened, hissing slightly and seeming to be in legitimately deep thought on the subject. "It can't still be about Toby – the child loves me!"

"_No_, but I haven't forgotten about that, either!"

"What did I do _now_ exactly, hm?" He seemed both put out and extremely vexed, folding his hands neatly behind his back, trying not to let her see how his temper flared. "Was I not _nice_, just as your step-mother wished me to be? Did I not bring your father around to what _you_ wanted, like you always wished?"

"_That's the whole damn point_!" He was looking at her with an expression that all too clearly showed he was entirely at a loss to her meaning – something along the lines of, "Women, can't bloody well understand them for even a moment." "You were _nice_," Sarah was continuing, trying to control the shrieking in her voice, the quavering in her hands. "Because _Karen _wished you to be."

"...do you honestly believe that's the only reason?"

"_I don't know_!" she was shouting again, shoving her coat into the closet and not caring when it slipped off its hanger. "That's why I'm mad! I can't trust a single thing you do! Are you nice because somewhere in your...gobliny heart you _care_, or are you just playing games again?" His words in the Escher room played in her mind like a broken record. "_You asked that the child be taken, I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening_." She tried to shake her head, to focus on the real Goblin King that stood before her, hands still folded behind him. Still scowling. "Do you want _me_, or do you just want to beat me?"

"...I would show you-"

"_Don't_. Don't start on this 'showing,' and 'not everything is as it seems,' shit right now, okay? Do you get why this is so goddamn _annoying _to me right now?"

Surprisingly to Sarah, the question actually seemed to make him relax a little. He smiled, loosened the tension held in the line of his shoulders. "Perhaps."

Sarah's own shoulders bounced up and down in her ragged, enraged breathing. Her green eyes were alive with a fire rare to see in her – though he remembered it well from their fatal encounter in his Labyrinth – and her cheeks and lips were ruddy with the flush of blood to her lovely face. "Okay," she allowed with a hiss, wanting to relax, but unable to do so. "_Good_."

His smile widened. "You know, you're positively _adorable _when you're ang-"

"Mm!" Sarah held up her hand to stop him, too mad to begin to articulate. "Quit while you're ahead, Jareth!"

"As you say, precious thing."

"If I go to brush my teeth, you're still going to be here, aren't you?"

"Oh, almost certainly."

"_Fine_, whatever..." Young Miss Williams grabbed for her toothbrush and paste anyway, muttering, "I'll just call Karen later and tell her you...beat me or cheated on me or suck in bed or something, so she can take back the damn wish..." Jareth said nothing, seeming more amused by her attempted threat than bothered by it.

Sarah took her own sweet time freshening up in the girl's bathroom, running the cool water over her face over and over again. She couldn't let him _get _to her like this! Getting hot-headed would only cloud her judgment and then he'd _win_. She couldn't allow that. Time to _think_, girl. Tiredly scrubbing at her mouth, she almost thought better of it: the lubricious Goblin King might take her minty fresh breath as a direct come on and make it an excuse to put her in another one of those soul-draining kisses agai-

Mm, nope, better not to think about that! Sarah gripped the cool counter top with her free hand and brushed until she could feel her gums start to bleed. She was not going to give him an _inch _of ground to work with against her, not this time.

Sarah trudged down the dingy hallway with a sigh, trying to rally her thoughts. Okay, so he had no power over her, but he wasn't claiming to – no wonder why he'd let her walk away so easily. So, what, did he have power over Karen? It seemed more likely he was simply playing the situation in a way that was advantageous to him. And speaking of parents, her dad...What was with that bizarre baiting Jareth had been doing to rile him up about her theater dreams? Had he been..._planning _for that reaction? The whole time? Counting on it? Really, she knew he liked playing games, but he couldn't _possibly _predict her father's every emotion with such certainty. Ugh, why was he doing this! For her? Why! Out of love, or to make her..._owe _him something. And her _dad_: was theater just the better option to Jareth, or did he mean it?

The young woman bit her lip, taking hold of the doorknob to her room. Well, she had to have faith in herself – she'd figure this out, she always had before. With another heartfelt sigh, Sarah pushed the door open.

But the door did not open on her familiar, quaint dorm room.

Glittering across the small step of the threshold lay a room of _glittering _decadence: stone walls were decorated with tapestries detailing a swirl of fairy stories and ancient battles, all done in shimmering colors that had lost none of their gleam with time. It must have been late fall wherever this room was, same as at the college, for a fire crackled warmly in its grate, spilling a soft, orange light on the open hearth. A decanter of richly red-purple wine sat next to a crystal glass (of course crystal), and she could have sworn she heard the faint strains of music coming from somewhere in the softly echoing expanse. Dwarfing all of this, _naturally_, was the four poster bed, hung with gossamer canopies, as thin and airy as spider's silk in a sense-muddling rainbow of different colors. A deep, dark burgundy comforter lay across the bed, damask and looking _achingly _soft, next to large, fluffy pillows and the glow of softly burning candles, filling the room with an intoxicating incense.

Sarah checked the door she had hold of – number 073, yup, definitely her door, if not her room. She sighed, gulped a little. Well, she _could _go try to impose on Barbara's hospitality...but then she shuddered. "Studying," right. Better to take her chances with this devil she knew. Not allowing herself to hesitate, Sarah stepped boldly into the room, and shut the door behind her.

"So sweet of you to join me. Do come in, precious thing." Sarah groaned a little, at last noticing Jareth, sat in an impossibly large, impossibly overstuffed arm chair, holding one of the crystal glasses full of wine, the black slip he'd conjured up dripping sweetly from his lap. He'd changed out of those tight jeans and the sports coat: she looked more as she remembered him now, albeit relaxed, in skin tight breeches her father would _not _have approved of, and a flowing white shirt that lay open at his smooth chest. "See something you like?"

"Damn it, Jareth, where are we."

"My bedroom, of course." He seemed to delight in the way she groaned and leaned her head against one of the posters of his bed. He'd have her leaning over the rest of it, soon enough- "Since you expressed concern over – how was it you put it? Banging on every surface of the room?" His smile only grew as she glared in his direction from the corner of those soulful green eyes. "I assure you, I have no such equivocations."

"You do this a lot, don't you," Sarah asked him, straightening against the pillar and crossing her arms over that alluring chest of hers, tapping the damp toothbrush on her arm.

"A lot? No, I don't think so. Pray, tell me, what is a lot? Do you think me an unscrupulous cad?"

"Yes."

"I am hurt."

"I think you," she replied, tossing the brush and paste onto one of his side tables with a grudging sigh, "have _way _too much practice at this."

"Guilty as charged, I suppose."

"I bet you've broken the hearts of a thousand girls."

"Oh, easily."

Sarah's eyes flashed in the warm fire light. Jareth couldn't help but appreciate the way the light licked at her creamy, smooth skin, the way the glow was caught in her hair – gods, her long, luxurious, soft hair... "So why should I believe you!" Damn, shouting again. And here he'd thought to set the mood. "You claim you love me, but as soon as I give you what you want, you'll be through with me."

If the Goblin King was hurt by the remark (and it was a big if), he showed no sign of it. "Do you think I offer the throne to _every_ girl I want to seduce?"

"I'm just saying," Sarah was continuing on, her voice spitting a little and finding she had to look away from him, from the way his clothes clung to him and highlighted every inch of his sculpted, unearthly, _stupid_ body. "I'm not an idiot. I know how guys like you work."

Jareth paused over that for some time, seeming to roll the words – and their implications – over and over in his mind and in his mouth. "Guys like me...hm." The fey king took a sip of the liquid in his glass, setting it to the side with an audible thud, yet still not allowing a drop to be spilled. Sarah looked at him, hesitantly, quivering a little, as he rose and strode to her in two long steps. "Look at me, Sarah." His hand was on her wrist, where she was grabbing at the bed poster.

"Mm," she shook her head, closing her eyes against him. Nope, not slipping into this again.

"Look at me." It wasn't quite an order, nor quite a request. He lay one finger against her chin (wearing gloves again, this time dove grey silk) and tilted her head in the direction of his face. Against her wishes, Sarah's soft eyes fluttered open, and she was unfortunately pinned by that intense gaze of his unholy eyes. "I have gone to bed," he began in a whisper, "with girls of ravishing beauty. Empresses and Queens, the pride of the Sidhe, have lay down and worshiped me. So tell me, Sarah..." His voice dropped to a whisper, his face leaning closer. Sarah's eyes shut for a moment, at the feeling of his breath on her cheek again (she remembered the night in the dark, in the storm; the way his sharp breath felt on her face, the way she wondered about his soft, soft lips...). "Why do I find you more beautiful by far? Why do I wake in the night with your name on my lips? _Sarah_. How you torture me."

She felt her breath catch in her throat, felt a small noise struggle against her lips. He was not playing fair, as always. "Because," she rallied herself, though still unable to pull away from his touch. "I beat you – because you can't stand it."

"You're right." Huh. _That _wasn't what she had expected him to say. "You're the only one who could, the only one who could beat and best and tame a Goblin King...Because you were brave, and innocent, and pure. I won't say you were unselfish, because you weren't – but you...learned." Jareth leaned in closer now, she could feel the heat radiating off his body more than she could feel the fire. Her knees were starting to go weak, _damn it_. "I live in an unchanging world," he continued, apparently oblivious to her distress, or otherwise wishing it to continue. "Yet you learn and grow and change day to day, hour to hour. You are perfectly right, these _are _all the reasons I..." The Goblin King struggled with his pride momentarily...and submitted with a sigh, head down, eyes just peeking up at her. "Love you – a silly, mortal girl with no obvious powers or talents. I did not _wish _to love you, but I cannot make it stop; I find, sometimes, in the darkness...I do not want to."

She couldn't hide her shaking now, and her delicate hands wrapped around the carved wood pillar for support. "Jareth-"

"It's true I prefer the conquest, but here I am, the conquered."

"S-stop-"

"What is it you want?" He was hissing again, a little angry in his devotion. Sarah closed her eyes and tried to stop her quivering. "A supplicant kneeling at your feet?"

"No!" She shouted, her richly green eyes shooting open. Jareth was surprised enough to let her go and take a respectful step back. "That is _not _what I want! How would you...even _think _that? Do I seem like that much of a...a power hungry _bitch_ to you?"

The corner of his mouth tugged in a reluctant smile. "No," he agreed, perhaps a bit relieved.

"Good. Because I don't want that..."

"...good," he at last replied, taking one tiny, hesitant step closer to her. "Neither do I. I know you cannot believe me, but you were made by Fate for me – and I for you. Surely that is of a little comfort." Sarah would not look away from his gaze, features set, determined still not to give an inch – but inwardly, she admitted that it might be comforting, just a little. "I'd _love _to rule you," he was continuing, "but you will not allow it – and...I am somehow glad. Do not be my boring pet," he was entreating her, taking her hand that did not grip the poster and bringing it to his achingly soft lips. "Be my _Queen_, the partner at my side. Not because I want you to – but because I need you to."

Sarah could not stop the melting feeling going on in her stomach and between her thighs, her lips beginning to quiver in her desperate _want _of the unearthly, unholy man before her. Before she could think better, or worse, of it, she uncurled her fingers from around the bed's poster – and launched herself into his embrace, catching at his mouth with her own.

If his kiss had en-flamed her before, God, it was like the Fourth of July now! Hungry, desperate, _needing_, Sarah brought her hands to his smooth, pale face, pulling him closer, slipping her tongue between his sharpened teeth. She couldn't help the way she whimpered as his gloved hands grabbed at her hips and pulled her in closer, and she could almost swear he was making some kind of vulnerable noise into her mouth as well. God damn that Goblin King, he just did not play fair! In between her breaths gasping for air, between looking into his lust-clouded eyes, she would catch at his mouth again, her arms starting to wrap around his shoulders and his neck, loving the soft feeling of his hair as it tickled the skin of her arm. Jareth had lifted her by the hips onto his plush bed, leaning over her and tugging at both of their shirts.

"Jareth-" Stopped with another intense kiss. "Jareth-"

"Mm," he had slipped his tongue back into her mouth, passionate to explore. She yelped a little as his gloved hands slipped under her shirt, as though it offended him, pawing at her soft breasts.

She tried to use her hands as a wedge to pause him momentarily, quickly slurring, "_I'm not going to have sex with you, okay_?"

"Sure, okay." He bent to recapture her mouth, his face flushed with desire.

"I'm _serious_!" She gasped as he sank his mouth to the smooth hollow of her throat, shivering as he slipped his tongue over that as well.

"Yes, so am I..."

"_Jareth_." She tried to push him off again, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head with a feral snarl; the movement didn't hurt, but it did startle her a little. He must have noticed, for he actually did stop, breathing heavily, a stray lock of his hair bobbing up and down with every breath.

"...what," he replied, breathless and unable to tear his eyes away from her. God, how the years had improved her...not that slip of a little girl anymore, she was about to become a _woman_ – mm, or he'd _make _her one...

"...t-tell me," she hesitated only slightly. "That you'll _stop _before it goes too far."

"What?" He almost sounded genuinely offended. "Madame, you do not think I possess that self control?"

"Well..." Sarah replied dryly, eyes half closed. "You're on top of me right now-"

"A pleasant place to be if ever there was one."

"And I can _feel _your – augh, does that thing have a mind of its own?"

He leaned his hips into her soft, yielding flesh, grinning maniacally. "Almost..."

"Well, you're _digging _into me."

"That was more or less the idea, yes."

"_Jareth_."

"Oh, _fine_," he spat a little, releasing her and crawling off the bed, but in no way less aroused for it. "Ruin the moment, see if I care." Quite obviously, he did.

"_If _I'm going to do this..." Sarah said, sitting up with her hands resting on her thighs, still hot from where he'd pressed against her, her voice lingering on that first word. "I need time...to make sure I'm ready."

"I know that."

"You do?" She was looking at him skeptically from under her wild, dark hair that he'd managed to thoroughly muss.

"My Lady," he gave a partially mocking half-bow, flicking his hair away from his pale eyes. "I am nothing, if not patient."

"...no tricks, or threats, or anything like that."

"As you have made so _abundantly _clear, I have no power over you."

"No trying to trade my dreams for my soul."

"Mm." He chewed the inside of his lip in obvious annoyance; apparently he thought that really ought to be left on the table.

"And you'll...wait."

"I've waited over a _thousand years_," he hissed, rubbing his hands together in agitation. "You can imagine why I'm not anxious to wait much longer, but I certainly _can_."

"What," Sarah said, starting to slide off the bed, which she could tell he did not like. "You expect me to believe you've been pining for your one true love to come along since Leif Eriksson landed in North America?"

"No," the Goblin King replied matter-of-factly, taking up his wine goblet again and indulging in a deep, soothing sip. "Nothing of the kind."

"Well, then what _were _you doing."

"Whatever I wanted. Listen." He sat down, with all the gravitas of a grandfather about to read some ancient scripture to his little ones, they wide eyed with wonder, but worn with sleep. Sarah snorted, but found herself drawing closer in spite of that. "Time was, in the ancient world, when the Fey Lords were still properly respected, the Greeks had a legend: humanity started out in three forms; one all man, one all woman, the other a mix of the two – with two heads and four arms a piece. Well, the gods – being what they were – didn't quite like this for a variety of reasons-"

"Your storytelling leaves something to be desired."

"Shh," he whispered, laying that gloved finger against his soft lips. Sarah shivered and was silent. "The gods split the humans in two – wrenched them apart like a pomegranate. So that each was doomed to pine after their other half, their perfect mate...the man to the man, the woman to the woman, and...that last category, my personal favorite, to each other. Oh, and the arms and heads got divided into a much more manageable system."

Sarah raised one eyebrow skeptically, red mouth smirking a little. "Quite the romantic little tale."

"Isn't it?" Jareth took another long draught of wine, his eyes set on her all the while. "Don't mistake me, Sarah. I had _not _been searching for you over hill and under dale until we finally met."

"No?"

"No. That was the _last _thing I had in mind." At the look she was giving him (not a bad one, just...one), he amended, "One woman? To tie me down, to ruin _all _my fun? Who in their right mind would want that?"

"I have _no_ idea." Sarah shook her head.

"I resist you even now, I struggle against you mightily." He had put his glass down again, rising to meet her, their mouths mere haunting inches from one another. Sarah could still see the bulge in his thin pants, and she noted he couldn't have been struggling _that _hard. "And yet, it makes me _desire _you all the more...I am no saint, it's true, I am even a little villainous...but surely even villains are merited _some _mercy."

Sarah snorted, still half taken in by his drowsy looks. "You would show no one else mercy, if the positions were reversed."

"How true," he agreed, taking her hand and bringing her soft, warm wrist to his mouth; he kissed her there, licked a little, drinking in where she'd daubed perfume at her pulse point. "That is why you must _shame _me with your generous nature...to teach me a lesson."

"I have a feeling you'd be a hard one to teach."

"A challenge, precious thing, merely an intriguing challenge." With no more warning than that, he drew her into the circle of his body, holding her almost as tightly as Toby had earlier in the evening. "_Stay with me tonight_," he hissed, voice almost begging. "I will not do anything...untoward, but stay with me."

Sarah hesitated, her small hand on the strong muscle of his arm. "J-Jareth..."

"I swear on my bond to you...I'll return you in the morning, bring you back to that little room well in time to go on with your little life...but _stay_." She was able to get a glimpse of his tired, haunted eyes for a minute. Damn it, her knees buckled again. Why did she have such a thing for...for...bad boys who went weak around her? Villains?

Owls?

Mutely, she nodded, her fingers digging into him a little, her palms sweating with her nerves. The Goblin King sighed, brought his head down to rest in the crook of her neck – he almost seemed like he might fall asleep standing up, but she heard him murmur, "I intend to enjoy this..."

Sarah sighed with relief. Okay, good – some things never changed. Resting her cheek on his soft hair, she thought to herself, "_You know what? So do I_."

**End**

**(At least I think so)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Part 1

A.N.: Here's the deal, kiddos: this thing got WAY out of hand. It's twice as long as the previous chapters. It's longer than the last two - combined. For that reason, I am cutting it into two more-manageable chunks. And guess which half has the peachy bits? Uh huh. I can hear you guys screaming at me already, so I'm going to cut you a deal: I am seriously laboring to get this first part edited and up tonight, so I'll put up the second one - as soon as I get a review. Yup, you guys shower with me with praise and I can have the second half up by tomorrow morning. Petty? Totally. But after the work I've done on this, I totally deserve it. I think you guys will soon see why. Get cracking, my lovelies. I'm going to go collapse, I have work tomorrow and I really slammed getting this done tonight - I didn't get to do as thorough of an edit as I want, but I'm seriously about to collapse, and I knew you guys didn't want to wait any longer. If I missed any errors, please let me know and I'll go back and fix it. Now on to your regularly scheduled author's note:

Well, you guys did it: I've run out of lyrics from "The Riddle" to use, so we're having to switch to other songs. I guess it's for the best. I went with "The Riddle," because it's about treachery, and at least _initially _that's what this whole thing was about. But, much like Sarah and Jareth's relationship, things do grow and evolve (Grumble grumble, the rest of the lyrics didn't really fit anyway...). So, we're switching to "Where's the Girl?" which fits their relationship really..._really_ well. I personally recommend the Terrence Mann version, but Rex Smith's might be a better fit: he's a tenor, for a start, and a rock/pop star in his own right, so it sort of goes with the spirit of Jareth more. But I've been in love with Terrence Mann's sultry baritone since I was five, and some things just don't change. I'd be VERY surprised if both weren't floating around on youtube somewhere. And if for some reason they're not, it's worth buying the Original Broadway Cast; Frank Wildhorn's mid-to-late-90s stuff was really good.

Err...uh, more on topic: once again, you guys really demanded this get continued, once again I was at a loss as to how it would go, but fate seems to always intervene on that account. I'm hoping to get back to a bit more of the nasty Goblin King we all know and love, and I'm hopeful that will come through alright.

Since I've been making a tradition of recommending stuff in these progressively longer author's notes, let me this time recommend "A Forfeit of Dreams," by K.L. Morgan over on AO3. I stayed up way too late last week to finish it, and it is an _amazing _piece of writing: its emotional intensity was so raw, so real that it caused me physical pain of the best sort. I'm also a bit chagrined to note that a lot of what I was doing in the last chapter she did in her epilogue, but I swear I wrote that well before reading her fic, and really, there's only so much originality in the world. It's really worth reading, I'd say more so than this is – but stay to read it anyway. Also, read "Galatea." I was in love at the first sentence.

Also, I've upped the rating on this, since you all wanted to get to the peachy goodness (I love how that's supplanted "lemon" in this fandom, and everyone's good with that). It was just time.

Chet wasn't around to edit this week, so if it sucks, you guys know why.

(Also, Sarah's wrong, anthropology's awesome. You should all take some classes.)

**The Riddle: The Girl With the Blaze in Her Eyes - Part One**

OvO

_I remember days full of restlessness and fury_

_I remember nights that were drunk on dreams_

_I remember someone who hungered for the glory_

_I remember her, but it seems..._

- "Where's the Girl," The Scarlet Pimpernel

OvO

"Nay then." Her eyes were a green fire burning in her fierce face. Her hatred for an unjust King was laid bear upon her heart. "If these things are pleasing to the gods, when I have suffered my doom, I shall come to know my sin." Sarah seemed suddenly overcome by a moment of doubt, of weakness. She swallowed hard; vanity, selfishness, wrath and pride...she knew them all too well already. "But if the sin is with my judges..." Those green eyes snapped open again, ready for whatever was thrown her way. "I could wish them _no fuller _measure of evil than they, on their part, mete wrongfully...to me."

She stood in absolute silence, emerald eyes still glaring out into the darkness. Even the most powerful of kings could not have escaped this rebuke.

Suddenly, the class broke out into applause.

"_Wooo_, Sarah!"

"Rock it, girlfriend!"

Bursting into a sudden, bubbly grin, Sarah allowed herself her first deep breath in many tense moments, playfully bowing before her classmates in the Black Box, many of whom continued to cat call their congratulations; others murmured amongst themselves. "Fuck, dude, I should have volunteered to go on _before _Williams. What a show off, she must no know one's going to top _that_."

"Alright, class, that's enough." Professor Wayne was waving his hands to quiet the rest of his Freshman class, looking secretly bemused beneath his stern expression. "No doubt Miss Williams feels flattered enough already." Blushing and trying to stop the mad grin that was spreading across her features, Sarah folded her soft hands in front her, digging her toe into the worn floorboards. The Professor cleared his throat, adjusting his spectacles as he held up his clipboard for notes. "Sarah," he mused, tapping one finger against the wrinkle of his mouth, framed as it was by a short, scratchy white beard. "You demonstrate your understanding of a range of conflicting emotions in Antigone...you experience hatred, pain, regret, determination...you've been practicing."

She managed a small smile. "Yes, sir."

"You're doing a much better job of giving your voice distinction and depth." He put the clipboard down and removed the reading glasses, giving the young girl a very serious look. "Have you considered auditioning for the spring production." The eyes of the class collectively widened, all focused on Sarah, who almost staggered at all the rapt attention on her. A Freshman, invited to audition for the spring musical?

"I...hadn't decided yet."

Wayne nodded, lips pursed, seeming pleased by her reply. "Think about it," was his final comment before he picked up the glasses again. "Carlton, you're up next, let's hear it."

Sarah wanted to watch the rest of the midterm monologues, she really did! She wanted to support her friends and classmates and learn from them – but she was too overwhelmed to even begin to concentrate. Electricity seemed to be pouring out of every fiber of her body, she had to sit on her hands to keep them from wildly fiddling as if...as if she could conjure a crystal out of thin air and dance it along her fingertips in pure joy.

_Eek_, she thought to herself, suddenly startled and at last noticing how Barry Carlton was desperately trying (and maybe failing just a little bit) to nervously do justice to Strindberg. _Where did a thought like _that_come from?_

_Oh, come off it_, the rest of her mind replied. _As if you don't know_.

The rest of the class was a long half hour. One girl poured out her heart as Juliet, a young man tried very hard to be Henry Higgins. But it was clear to everyone in the class that _no one _had come close to Sarah Williams. Well, it was hardly fair, was it? When your mom was already a well established Broadway commodity, with a Tony _and _a Drama Desk and a well publicized love affair. Sarah had an unfair genetic and social advantage! The kinder of her fellow students, the ones who genuinely liked Sarah and knew her work ethic and pride, knew that any talent she had, any parts she got, Sarah had earned them all herself. The rest sat back and gave petty glares.

Poor Sarah was completely oblivious to the jealousy and ire being silently directed at her; it was, for one thing, simply not in her nature to be thought of as a creature to envy or admire. In many ways, she felt the same way she had at fifteen, playing dress up in the park. Just a girl who wanted to be lost in a dream. But more than that, she was simply too genuinely excited at the prospect of sharing her moment of glory with the people she loved. That was why, when class was over, she did not even stop to talk to her professor about her performance or the possibility of a spring audition, which a far wiser, more calculating theater student would have. She tore out of the Black Box and through the halls of the theater building on a mission to her dorm – and the phone.

_Ring, ring_! Sarah bounced on her toes, the curling cord of the phone wrapped around her small fingers. _Ring_! "Come on, come on, pick up..." she whispered to no one present, wrenching her wrist free to look at her watch; almost three. Surely Karen would be home from picking Toby up from preschool by this time. _Ri_-

"Hello?"

"Karen!" Sarah was practically shouting, still bouncing in her excitement.

"Oh, Sarah! Hello! How are your midterms going?"

"Listen!" The girl flopped into her worn Papasan chair, kicking her brown leather flats off her feet and not even wincing when the smacked into the opposite wall. "I _aced _my monologue!"

"Sarah, that's wonderful!"

"_And_!" In her excitement, her voice began to squeak. She shook with her desire to share her news. "Prof. Wayne wants me to try out for the spring production!"

"Oh!" A pause. "That's good, right?"

"_Yes that's good, it's the spring musical, most Freshman just get auditioned for the chor-_"

"Then good, good, that's great!" In the background, she could hear the opening and closing of the front door, her father's voice calling out to her step-mother. "I'm on the phone with Sarah, Robert, hang on!" Karen refocused her attention on Sarah. "So, about Thanksgiving-"

"Karen, they're going to do 'The King and I!' What if I get in!"

"I'm sure you will, Sarah, I'm sure. But about when you come home-"

"Michael's already practicing, he said the professors never even ask Freshmen about trying out because it's for the serious seniors and-"

"_Sarah_!" Karen was close to shouting to get her attention. "We need to know how many guests to plan for on Thursday! _Are you bringing Jareth_?"

Young Miss Williams nearly dropped the phone; ugh, way to be a buzz kill. Here she was about to make University history, and they were asking about the prancing, baby-stealing Goblin King? _I must be cursed_. She sighed, audibly. "Why..."

"Well, you know I didn't want to bother you about it when you're working so hard in school. It's just that Toby has been asking me all week now, and if you two are _serious_, it would seem appropriate to bring him with you when you come ho-"

"We're totally not serious! Why, what has he been saying? You haven't been talking to him, have you!" It was her turn to nearly shout.

"Goodness, Sarah, there's no reason to get upset about this, it's a simple question." The more things changed between herself and her step-mother, the more they stayed the same; still lecturing and telling her to calm down and act her age. "But you're not serious? He seemed so awfully nice." She could hear her father shouting something in the background that, while she couldn't make it out, she knew was less than complimentary. Part of her was happy to have _one _person on her side-

The stupid part of her stuck up for Jareth.

"Tell Dad to shut up!"

"Sarah Williams, I will tell your father no such thing."

"_Ugh_." She dropped her face into her free hand, feeling a headache coming on. And the afternoon had been going so well. "Fine...ask him to get on the other phone."

"Alright, one moment..." There was a scratching sound; Sarah knew exactly how Karen would hold the cradle of the phone to her chest to ask Robert to pick up the other line. She even knew how she would whisper to him to be nice. _When did my life get this stupid crazy_? Eh...maybe it always had been. It just now was a bit more...magically stupid crazy than she had anticipated.

"Hello, pumpkin..." It was Robert's voice, sounding a little wary. "Still seeing that _boy_?"

She opened her mouth to tell him she was doing nothing of the kind – and then promptly shut it with a snap of her teeth. Damn it, she realized. She'd actually be lying if she said that. The universe was doing this to her on purpose. "Sorta," she instead replied. "Okay, about Thanksgiving..."

"Yes!" Karen was delighted to be on this topic, it was apparent in her voice. "Of course Jareth is welcome to come – if he doesn't already have plans. Oh, or were you going to spend it with his family?"

"I don't think they...celebrate it."

"Then of course he's welcome!" Sarah was pretty sure she could hear her father's teeth grinding.

"_Listen_." The young woman's voice was serious, and she rubbed at her temple with her free hand. "I know you guys – excluding you, Dad – are totally in love with him or something weird like that, but he really is _not _all that and a bag of chips."

_Some actress. You're such a bad liar_.

"Sarah," Karen was saying, her voice marked with real concern that actually tugged at Sarah a little. "It doesn't matter to us if you marry a Prince Charming-" _Oh, isn't that a relief_. "-It only matters if he makes you happy." Sarah felt her ears burning. Oh jeez, why did they have to go and make this so difficult. "Sarah? You still there?"

"Y-yeah, I'm here."

"Will you drive down with him? Or do you want us to send you money for a train ticket?"

She had to sigh. "Knowing him, he'll want to drive..." She didn't even worry about the fact she had no car of her own. She knew her Goblin King well enough to know what he was capable of – oh damn it, why was she letting herself think like this! "_If _I bring him," she quickly recovered her cool. "I need you guys to do something for me."

"Of course, dear, whatever you need."

"You have to promise me, _no wishes_."

"...what?"

"You heard me! No, 'I wish you guys would get married,' or, 'I wish you'd have twenty kids,' or, 'I wish you away to a magical sex dimension!'"

"...Sarah? Honey, are you alright?"

Her face was _burning_. "Oh, look at the time, I have to go make sure my paper is ready for tomorrow! Just remember, no wishes – and, Daddy, leave him alone about how he dresses, okay?" _Why _was she defending _that_, of all things? "Love you, bye!" There was a hard click as she hung up the phone. Standing in the kitchen, still holding the receiver, Karen could hear the labored breathing of her husband down the hall.

"Robert..." she warned delicately, yet loudly enough for him to hear. "The girl's stressed, that's all. Everything's _fine_."

"I don't care," he hissed back, not moving from his spot in the hallway. "I'm still going out first thing tomorrow and buying a _gun_."

OvO

Sarah hadn't been lying about that paper: bent over her desk, her table lamp a bright glow in the darkened room, she tapped her pencil to her lips and went over it one last time... "Prompt: discuss how equal standing for women in hunter-gatherer societies is influenced by and relates to the procurement of protein, the tradition of bride price, and matrilineal ancestry." She groaned and dropped her head into her hands. She should never have picked anthropology for her social science requirement. Why did they have to force general courses anyway! It was annoying to note that after the high of her thrilling monologue performance, her day had gotten steadily worse. Okay, first things first, she should triple-check she'd answered the question word for word, then she could make sure she quoted her references correctly, and after _that_ she could-

There was a wild tapping at the window, a dull, humming thud of something beating itself against the glass – something like a pair of wings. Sarah didn't notice, or at least refused to acknowledge, the sudden, wild grin that sprang to her face as she yanked on the cord that drew her blinds with a small clatter. Yes! Oh yes, finally, the barn owl had appeared at her window, tapping wildly in order to gain entrance. It wasn't unlike that fateful night thirteen seasons ago, but she was too excited to compare the moments together. She counted herself lucky that Kara was out at Ben's place again tonight, lucky that her roommate hadn't noticed the screen had been pried off their window. Sarah tugged hard against the stays of the window and it slid open, the tawny owl swooping inside without hesitation.

Sarah gave a whoop of excitement, covering her eyes at the burst of light, smoke and glitter that signaled the return of the Goblin King. She could hardly contain herself; she was barely more than a slip of a girl, and there was a distressingly gorgeous man standing on her worn, pink dorm room rug, looking tall and imperial. Jareth was relatively casual in his dress, as far as his standards leaned: no jacket, instead his traditional poet's shirt with cuffs of torn lace, held taut against his figure by a dark grey waistcoat that did _everything _to emphasize his tight, toned body. His breaches were a shade lighter in color, molded to his thighs and calves like a second skin, tucked elegantly into boots of impeccably shiny black leather. Unable to withhold her intense excitement any longer, the young woman threw herself into her suitor's arms, caught in a kiss that almost made her moan with its intensity. One of Jareth's warm, gloved hands cupped her cheek softly, the other held her to him at her waist, and he tasted her opened mouth with such a hunger that she had to feel he was as anxious to see her as she had been to see him. When at last he released her, her head was swimming.

The Goblin King was _purring_, still holding her close to his deliciously warm body, eyes half closed in deep pleasure. "Mmm...your welcomes grow sweeter each time I arrive, precious thing."

Sarah was breathing in quick, shallow gasps, green eyes wide with her joy. "The monologue was _perfect_," she whispered to him, unable to tear her gaze away from his unearthly face. There was no reason for her to speak so quietly, except the reason that she had no desire to share this moment with anyone for all the world. "The professor _loved _it."

"I thought as much, I told you he would." He traced two gloved fingers down the curve of her cheek, slipping his hands into the soft, dark tresses of her hair. "Who would not be be-spelled by one such as you..."

"You're trying to butter me up."

"Maybe..." he smoothly replied, running his lips across the soft skin of her closed eyes. "Is it working?"

In her quiet moments of private honesty, Sarah was actually kind of mad at herself. Had she completely lost her mind? Why was she continuing to see Jareth? Why did she let him into her room, night after night, when she _knew _what he was? Oh, he professed a world of undying love for her, but how could she be so _stupid _as to even begin to trust that? Not only was he a man, he was a man who had stolen her brother and not hesitated even a moment to put her in danger to win him back. This sensible part of her mind was angry at him, but mostly at herself, for how she would find herself thinking about him for no particular reason at all – standing in line at the cafeteria, or drifting away in lecture when she should have been taking notes; thinking about the way his smooth voice spoke in that sultry whisper, the way he drew her in again and again and again. She was angry at her own disappointment when Kara _did _stay in, because it meant she couldn't spend time with _him_. Had she totally lost her mind?

In her defense, she was very young. She was hardly the first girl overrun by late-adolescent hormones in the presence of a suitor. Stronger girls than she had fallen for men not half so alluring as the Goblin King. But this wiser part of her soul wondered...worried...just what would this romantic little tryst cost her, in the end?

And was it worth the Goblin King's price?

Sarah woke up from this reverie of tangled thoughts enough to realize he was bending to kiss her again, and she quickly stepped out of the warm circle of his arms. Jareth's eyes flickered with a dangerous annoyance, his thin mouth pursed. "I-I need to finish my paper, it's due tomorrow. It's important."

Looking very regal in his irritation, he waved a dismissive hand in her direction, sighing heavily through the nose. "As the Lady wishes." Carefully, Sarah reseated herself at her glum desk, but found it rather hard to concentrate – _especially _when he dropped those gloved hands to her shoulders, squeezing gently. "How lucky I am that your holiday break approaches, so I needn't share you with your _schooling_."

Sarah blushed, her hand automatically and thoughtlessly raising to touch his fingers, but she consciously dropped her hand back down before she could. "About that..."

He had begun to rub her shoulders in soft circles, working the tension away from her muscles. "Yes..."

She gulped, closing her eyes and feeling lost to the sensation. And damn it, that scent of his was all over the room; she would find herself breathing deeply into his shirts when he held her against him, setting her mind to swimming and spinning, a scent memory that wouldn't leave her alone, even when she wanted it to. "...my family invited you to come home with me."

The King stopped in his ministrations, thin lips curling up over his sharp teeth. "I had thought they might, after those little wishes of theirs..."

"I figured I knew you well enough to tell them you'd come."

He smirked, dropping into her Papasan chair in a regal manner that was totally different to how she sat; he threw one leg across the rounded side, eyes fixed on her while he twirled a crystal across his palm. "You know me so well, precious thing."

"I told them we'd drive down. Is that...doable?"

"I'm sure I can arrange something." Sarah sighed, dropping her pencil. What was the use, she couldn't focus. The paper was going to have to be good enough. Not yet turned around, she ran a small hand through her silky, dark hair. "Something on your mind?"

"I feel like...like I'm doing something really stupid."

"Come now, your paper can't be that bad."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"Pray, what _did _you mean, my beloved?"

Sarah refused to look at him. She knew if she did, she'd go weak again, remembering all the other times in the last couple of weeks he had swooped in through her window, coming in like an unholy Romeo for a much older Juliet. She'd remember the thrill of her heart beating against her breast, the feeling of his gloves smoothing her skin, the way his kisses burned her mouth...which was definitely half the problem. She kept giving in to his advances little by little at least partly because he was a _really _good kisser. Her green eyes closed; the fey king had such _soft _lips – a mouth that could be gentle as the sweep of the rain or hard and demanding and passionate for her. The way he held her body against his own, made the warmth of their skins mingle, incited her whimpers and provided a few of his own when they'd at last separate. She shivered, thinking how every time they met the stakes were raised – that last time he'd peeled off her grey cotton shirt and begun to fiddle with the clasp of her bra before she'd found the wherewithal to stop him. And it wasn't because she _wanted _him to stop, that was the problem. He'd said as much, lavishing kisses on what part of her soft, pale breasts were exposed, a warm had laying at the waistband of her jeans. "_If you mean it, say it again...say it again, precious thing, you're so good at saying words..._" Kiss, lick, nibble. "_Say it, or I won't stop, because you don't _want _me to stop_-"

"Sarah." Her eyes snapped back open. "What did you mean."

With a deep breath, the young girl turned to him, forced herself to look at him sprawled on her chair like that. She was a little surprised he wasn't smirking still; his features were rather set and serious in his sharp face. "Just..." she stammered and stalled, trying to find the right words in her mouth.

"Just?"

"Just why did it have to be you!" Sarah brought a fist down onto her thigh, wincing a little; great, a bruise was definitely going to form there. Jareth didn't seem upset by the outburst, instead raising one of his up-swept eyebrows. "Why did it have to be you who came back! Why not Hoggle or Didymus, or just one of my _friends_."

"Ha!" The Goblin King flicked some of his golden-silver hair from his face, the gloved hands making it an easy gesture. "Your _friends_...it was not them you kept inviting into your sultry little dreams, love. That is the reason I am here – and I am here in their place because _I _am a constant joy to look at." And damn if it wasn't true, the way his clothes hugged his skin and showed off his lean muscle and strong hands and his, well-

"I am being such a fool!" He said nothing in response, continuing to preen himself, and Sarah watched as a few pinions fell slowly to her floor. "I keep letting you in here night after night, and I'm more and more okay with it each time it happens – and it's going to _screw me over_!" At that, Jareth's eyes at last flickered to her gaze. Poor Sarah, as nervous as a little kitten, practically shaking in her chair.

Time for some fun. In one easy motion (damn it, she never had such an easy time getting out of that sinkhole of a chair), the King rose, striding over to her desk and looming over her, leaning down so that she bent backwards. "'Screw you over?'"

"You know what it means..."

"Indeed I do..." He held her chin with his thumb and forefinger so she couldn't turn from his insistent stare. "In many ways." Sarah tugged a little against his grip, but he didn't even tighten his hold, he just kept her there, fixed. "You might as well get comfortable with me, Sarah. I told you this was going to happen."

"Let go."

"You are a most frustrating little girl, do you know that? One moment you are throwing yourself into my arms, demanding kisses – and in the next heartbeat you're accusing me of being a monster. I'd almost say you don't even know what you want, if _I _didn't know what you wanted already..." His head was leaning forward. Sarah trembled under his touch and tried to pull away again. "You've made the Goblin King a fool, because your constant fights make me want you all the more fiercely – and I don't take kindly to being made foolish."

"Don't blame me," she hissed, "for your bad taste."

Jareth laughed, letting her go at last. Sarah rubbed her chin and jaw with a bit of ire in her hot gaze, wondering if she should expect another bruise. "You really _are _adorable, you know that." She grumbled, collecting her abandoned paper and slipping it into a folder. "Fickle little Sarah: she burns hot, she runs cold. She says yes, she says no." As soon as her papers were away, the Goblin King had hold of her wrist and was yanking her out of her chair as she yelped in her surprise and protest. "And yet, it's exactly what I love...that delightful little chase..." He bent his head and ran his tongue down the length of her white throat, felt her shudder against him in spite of herself. "Never change..." he whispered hotly into her ear before nibbling there as well. "Then again, I won't let you."

Sarah tried to slip her hands to his chest to act as a wedge between them, just barely able to voice in a whisper, "You should go now," as he continued to nibble the flesh of her throat. She wasn't sure if she was pushing, or pulling him closer, fingers dug into the silk of his shirt.

She could feel his breath as he laughed against her skin, hands at her waist and pulling her against the line of his body. "Not a chance..."

"I mean it – Kara will be here in the morning, I've got to run this paper to my professor bright and early, I have to pack for the weekend-"

"_Sarah_." She froze in his arms; that was definitely a command, the way he said her name this time. "I will be long gone before your little roommate arrives, you will awake fully refreshed in the morning, and your bags _will _be packed: and while it's true I won't take you, I am not leaving here tonight." Sarah gulped as he raised one of his hands; what was he going to...? Harmlessly, it seemed, he snapped his fingers, but at the sudden groaning sound behind her, she turned in his arms and watched as her lofted bed knelt at his command, sinking to the floor for easier access. _Oh no_... "When I make you my Queen," Jareth was continuing, tone leisurely but dark eyes burning their passionate intent, "it will be after you've _begged _me to make you so. Until such a time..." He was slowly pulling off his leather gloves. Sarah backed away from him nervously, until her knees hit the side of her mattress and she fell obediently (_stupidly_) onto the bed. "I am going to get you used to the sensation – both begging, and otherwise."

"J-Jareth..." She knew it. She should never have let him into her room. And while she was quite certain of that, she was also quite certain she could feel a growing dampness, an ache, between her thighs, and swallowed hard, watching him as he approached her with long, certain steps.

"No more words, precious thing." He ran his thumb along her red, red lips, pleased when they parted obediently and of their own accord at his touch. Good, the natural thing...his little firebrand was learning. "I don't want you losing your voice before we've even begun." Bracing himself with his free hand at her left hip, he leaned over her, bringing her mouth to his own in another _claiming _kiss, his tongue slipping easily inside – and with an assurance born from certainty, he pressed her down, down into the softness of her quilt. Brave, feisty Sarah...so strong, so passionate for the fight. But still a woman, who melted at the touch of a man, as nature has always meant it to be. The King intended to do a great deal of touching before the night ran out.

OvO

"Five days off, five days off! Goodbye papers, goodbye lectures, goodbye tests!"

Usually it was Sarah who was the giddy one, between herself and her roommate. Today, her dark hair tied into a knot at the nape of her neck, she observed Kara sitting at the edge of her bed, kicking her legs wildly in her excitement. Young Miss Williams was holding up a pair of socks to be tucked away into her weekend bag, watching as her red-headed roommate squealed in her glee. "I thought you still had reading for your sociology class?" Goodness knew her stupid anthropology professor had assigned the class more reading, even _after _she'd turned in the paper.

"Oh, who cares!" Kara cried, hugging her pillow tightly to her torso in her intense excitement. "I'll skim it! But it's five days off from school, _at Ben's place_!"

Sarah sighed, a wispy lock of her hair bouncing with her breath. "Yeah, the next big step...meeting the folks. Nervous?"

"_Excited_. He's on his way right now! In his _new car_!"

"I thought it was his dad's..."

"Psh, it might as well be his, he gets to drive it _all _the time. You should just _hear _the stereo-"

There was a rapping of knuckles against the thin wood of their open door, and the girls looked up. There was Ben alright, his mousey brown hair combed forward, smirking slightly. Sarah thought she'd be used to men who constantly smirked by now, but there was something in the way twenty-two year old Ben did it that she found rankled her deep in her stomach, something...scavenging. "The woofer would make the whole building shake," he was agreeing, leaning against the jamb of the door, his eyes raking over the girls – wait, what? No, surely he would just be looking at Kara, his girlfriend...Nervously, Sarah eyed him right back, cautiously, not in interest. Nope, he was _definitely _giving her the once-over. No way – in front of his girlfriend? An irritated, embarrassed blush on her smooth cheeks, Sarah turned to look at her roommate; she was too completely infatuated to see anything but what she wanted, bouncing to her feet with another shriek of delight.

"Hey, baby!"

"Hey, sexy." Stepping inside, he drew her to him with an arm around her waist, kissing her with an open mouth and a gross, lusty expression. Sarah felt all the more awkward, and tried to focus on her white, cotton socks. "You ready to go?"

"Almost!" Kara was giggling, rushing to her chest of drawers and scooping up various tools and palettes of makeup. "I just need to use the bathroom mirror, I'll be _right _back!" she assured him, her dark blue eyes somewhat entreating for patience. Sarah had never spent much time with her roommate and her boyfriend together, but she felt...uneasy about this. What the hell was going on?

"Hurry up," he directed, leaning against the closet door, watching as she hurried away and down the hall. Sarah kept focusing on packing her own bags. What irritated her was that she could still feel Ben's eyes on her, and she was _not _in the mood to be looked like a piece of meat. "Sarah, right?"

"What?"

"You're Sarah? Sarah Williams, that's your name?"

"Yes..." Sarah turned, cautiously reaching a hand toward where her hairbrush lay on the table. Ben smiled in a way that she was fairly sure he considered debonaire; hell, it had probably even worked on other girls, _lots _of other girls. _Too bad for you I'm a bit spoiled for other men..._Ugh, why did _that _thought pop up, of all things?

Still smiling, he ran a hand through his brown hair. "...you're cute," he appraised her, white teeth still flashing.

"Thanks...not sure your _girlfriend _would appreciate you giving me the eye."

"Who, Kara?" He stood from against the closet door, advancing on what he had decided would be his latest conquest, and Sarah's grip on the hairbrush tightened, more than willing to use it as a weapon. _I took on Fieries, robot goblins and their _King_, you don't think I can smack you straight in the family jewels_? "Don't worry about her. She's just a girl."

"She seems to think the whole world of you."

"She's sweet like that, yeah." Ben was leaning his arm against one of the poles that held Sarah's bed aloft, pinning her between the frame and the wall. "But, you know, it's nothing _serious_."

"Isn't it?"

"Nah, it's all about fun...don't you like that?" He was even closer, Sarah was about ready to brandish her brush. "Fun? How about we have some, sometime?"

The young woman was saved a response when something caught her eyes from over the slime ball's shoulder; a slightly hazy moment in the fabric of reality, a wrinkle in time. It was the Goblin King, in that same mortal costume of sports coat and _way _too tight of pants. And the look on his face...Sarah's green eyes went wide and she did a quick shake of her head – not her idea, definitely not! The monstrously pissed off fey seemed to understand this, for his otherworldly eyes narrowed and he gave a quick, curt nod of his head before clearing his throat. Ben slowly – _very _slowly – took his hand from off Sarah's bed frame, turning around lazily. He did something of a double-take to see Jareth standing in the doorway, an unnervingly calm, cool smile on that thin mouth. "The red BMW parked out front." It was a statement, not a question.

Ben's brow furrowed, still trying to figure out this weird guy in his girlfriend's doorway, in a general sense. "What about it?"

"Is it yours, old sport?" he sighed with smiling, condescending exasperation, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black navy coat.

"Yeah, so..."

There was a slow grin over sharp teeth. "Oops."

"What?" Ben tore away from Sarah, who at last felt free to breathe without this jerkwad invading her personal space. "What do you mean, 'oops,' what happened!"

"Oh, I might have smacked it a little – you _were _double parked, you know, old sport. It was all I could do to pull in at all." Without another word, Ben tore from the room in a dead sprint, shouting curses down the hall as he went. Jareth strolled lazily inside, looking _terribly _pleased with himself.

Sarah folded her arms across her chest, still holding her hair brush. "A fender bender? That's some petty revenge for you, Goblin King."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sarah," he purred, pulling out one of his hands and waving it in her direction. "Of course I didn't hit him while parking – as if I even _park_."

Sarah made a choked, scoffing sound, slowly dropping her arms; damn it, she was glad he'd showed up in time to stop her from being assaulted in her own dorm room, but he didn't have to be so _smug _about it. "I was handling the situation just fine."

"Oh yes, I can see how you were _handling_ it," his mismatched eyes flashed fire at that, stepping towards her and looming in a way that was not entirely dissimilar to how Ben had been; yet it somehow lacked the sleazy motions, more the posture of a man at utter comfort with his position in the world, and a desire to demonstrate what was his, and not to be touched. She wanted to be mad, but it was somehow rather _alluring_. "The solid tongue lashing from your rapier wit is surely not something he is likely ever to forget."

"Oh, like you lying about hitting his car is so much better!"

Jareth placed his left hand across his breast, seeming to feign hurt. "Lying? Sarah, I didn't _lie _about that."

She stumbled a bit. "You just said-"

"Oh, I didn't hit it with my own vehicle, if that's what you mean. But it definitely _has _been smacked."

Sarah's green eyes narrowed, studying his haughty features intently. "By what..." she ventured, voice low and cautious.

There was that grin again. He seemed to casually examine his glove. "You would not believe the destructive force of Goblins. Give them a bat and a sense of direction, and they're as happy to hit a car as if it were a pinata stuffed with Goblin Fruit."

"Jareth, you-"

"I'm ready!" Kara came traipsing into the room, stopping suddenly to see her roommate leaning up against her bed's lofts, a rather..._strange _man looming very close to her. "Um..." Better to focus on what was important. "Where's Ben?"

"Ran off in the direction of the parking lot, my dear," Jareth purred, his eye lids drooped in a lazy, pleased fashion. "Something about someone hitting his car, sounded like an awful great deal of trouble."

"Oh no!" Kara snatched her duffel bag from a waiting chair, tearing off after her boyfriend. "Bye, Sarah, see you Sunday! _Ben_!" Her voice echoed down the hall, and Sarah watched the spot where she had just been, mouth hanging slightly open.

Jareth just sighed, removing his right hand from his other coat pocket and leaving it to hang gently at his little lover's waist. "Alone at last, hm?"

"Eheheheh..." Sarah laughed awkwardly, slipping away from him under his arm, gathering up the last of what she needed for her own bag. "I'm afraid we really need to hit the road if we're going to make it to my parents' house before the traffic gets bad."

"Indeed." The King did not seem put out, examining her much the same way Ben had mere moments before – but as stupid as it was, Sarah liked feeling his gaze on her skin much better. _Have I lost my goddamn mind_... "Always the practical one. Shall we?" He offered her his arm, but Sarah declined to take it, instead locking up and heading in the direction of the parking lot.

"So...you didn't park, you said. How are we...you promised me a car."

"Ah, indeed I did!" Those gloved hands came together in an eager clap, a feral grin spread wide over his predatory features. Sarah was happy to note the parking lot had already emptied out, students hurrying away for the holiday weekend. Whatever the damage to Ben's car had been, he and Kara were nowhere to be seen now. "And a car you shall receive, my beloved. I must say, I am quite interested in piloting an automobile, it's not something I've had the occasion to try my hand at before now. Though I have been told I am an _excellent _charioteer."

"Great," Sarah sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm commuting with Judah Ben-Hur. If you're going to magic up a car, let's see it."

The Goblin King sighed, apparently hoping for more enthusiasm from the girl, but satisfied himself by conjuring up a crystal, staring deeply into its opal depths, and with great focus. Sarah felt lost into the glow of the orb for a moment as well, wondering what he might be seeing therein...when suddenly, with a quick flick of his wrist, Jareth had tossed to crystal to the pavement below, where it shattered in a haze of smoke. Sarah coughed, covering her eyes and waving the fog away, until it finally dissipated and she could see...

"_Jareth_! What-!"

The Goblin King was grinning, laying his gloved palms flatly on the smooth hood of an _amazingly _elegant Corvette, midnight blue in color with a faint sparkle mixed into the paint. "Isn't it _gorgeous_!" he gasped, stroking the car with the caress of a proud lover. "A carriage fit for a King, yes?"

"I am _not _getting in that thing."

"_What_!" He seemed extremely offended, wheeling on her and seeing her tapping her foot with annoying insistence. "I have given you a car fit for royalty and you're _still _complaining! _Sarah_," he hissed, clearly trying to gain some semblance of control before entirely losing his temper. "Do you mortal beings not use cars to communicate your status?"

"W-what?" She was thrown off by the seeming topic switch.

"You use them to say, 'I have more money than you do,' yes?"

"Y-yes..."

"Or, 'I am significantly more endowed than you can imagine."

She blushed at that, but would have had to admit she knew _exactly _the kind of car meant to say _that_. "I-I don't-"

"So _how _can you ask me – the Goblin King – to ride in a vehicle that is any way _lesser _than any _mortal man's_!"

"_What _am I going to say to Dad and Karen when I pull up in _that thing_? 'Hey Dad, here's that guy you hate who's into Baby Politics. Oh yeah, the car that looks like it ought to be owned by a rock star, just ignore that part.' We'll stick out like a sore thumb!"

"So!" His gloved fists tightened, inordinately irritated with her. "What, in the seven hells, is wrong with _that_!"

"I'm just trying to get through a normal weekend, not create a groupie following!"

"You already stick out_, Sarah_," he hissed her name, still very angry. "You're a _goddess _among men, now will you _stop being difficult_?"

"Thank you for your flattery, but it's _really _not the point!"

"_What is the point_!"

"That you keep turning the world upside-down, and maybe I like it right-side-up!"

"_If that's so_," Jareth snarled, standing distractingly near to her, so that the heat from the bodies combined to be the level of an inferno, "then why don't you turn around, walk back to that drab little dorm room of yours, and go back to being drooled upon by that _boy_."

Sarah paused, very still. She'd _really _ticked him off this time...it was definitely the angriest she'd seen him, since...wow, maybe since she'd told him his Labyrinth was a "Piece of cake." _I really need to learn to shut the hell up_... "Jareth," she sighed, dropping her voice into a low, delicate whisper and looking up at him with her green eyes very soft and wide. Cautiously, she trailed her fingers along his thin chest, and his eyes snapped downward to watch her movement. "I'm not trying to fight with you..."

"Trying or not, you're doing a _first rate job_."

"It's a _beautiful_ car," she reassured him, summoning all her skill as a consummate actress. "Prettier than I deserve, even."

The King straightened, she could feel a little of the stress leave his body, the rumbling beginnings of a purr starting low in his chest. "Maybe..." he agreed.

_Jeeze, he's so easy..._ "And it just shows how _generous _you are."

He stepped in closer – if that was even possible – taking her small hand in one of his own, expression...inscrutable, but definitely more on the side of pleased than pissed. "Go on..."

"It's just that..." she sighed, flicking her long, dark hair over her shoulder, watching him watch the movement with a singularity of focus. "You should know, it doesn't matter _what _kind of car we drive, so long as we're in it _together_."

"If it doesn't _matter_," he half purred, half hissed in reply. "Then why are you being so _impossible_ about it."

Sarah had to restrain herself to the utmost in order to keep from glaring at him. Clearing her throat and focusing _hard_, she closed what little space remained between them, felt his sharp intake of breath as the line of their bodies pressed in close together. "_Maybe_," she cooed, running the fingers of her other hand lightly across his broad shoulders, "I don't want to share you with _anyone's _prying eyes..."

There was that growling purr now, his head leaning in toward hers. "Are you _jealous_, precious thing?"

_Oh, _dream on_, Goblin King_! "I don't know," she whispered, doing her best to look up at him with wide, glittering and innocent eyes. "Do I have reason to be?"

"Do _I _have reason to be jealous of that pathetic creature _hitting _on you in your dormitory?"

"Oh, _Jareth_," she admonished, voice still low, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "How can you even _think_ that?"

He growled again, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her tight against his hips. Sarah could not hold back her astonished, physical gasp at the sudden motion, and the heat between his hips... "I did not see you protesting much..."

"I was surprised, that's all," which was certainly true. "Do you really think _I _would encourage a pathetic little _boy _like that when I could be spending my time with _you_?" Ah yes, _there _it was, she had him! She could see it in the way his blue-and-amber eyes glittered. Goblin King or humble grocer, no man was smart when it came to flattery from the lips of a beautiful woman..._especially _when they wanted to believe every word she said. But...Sarah considered. He'd see right through her if she demanded to change the car now; if she was going to butter him up, she'd have to do it right.

_Oh, _puh-lease_. Keep on making excuses to yourself, why don't you_?

Ignoring the sarcastic, treacherous part of her own mind, Sarah caught the King's lips with her own, teeth grazing lightly over his lower lip, pulling him down into a slow, searching, _thorough_ kiss. Jareth's hold on her hand and hip tightened possessively. He growled in pleased ownership, holding her very tightly against him and seeming to enjoy their kiss just as much as she was...Sarah had to gasp for breath a little once it was over, face flushed, feeling his body's excited response where they met. The young thing blushed a little.

But Jareth was satisfied, his sharp chin tucked over the crown of her head, growling and purring in turns. "What kind of car did you want, precious thing..."

Phew, that was a relief. Smiling and at last allowing herself a deep, calming breath, Sarah slipped carefully from his tight grasp; Jareth didn't protest over much, watching her go and eying her every movement with the proud possessiveness a lover might have. She lay her hand on the hood of the great machine near where his own had lay mere moments before, concentrating, biting at her lower lip. _Right, certain powers_...There was a sudden shaking between her hands, and she felt the metal of the car begin to burn. Yelping, she quickly drew her hand away before it could be scalded, but the motion had been enough: the car had changed to a-

"_Absolutely not_!"

It was a steel-grey Honda Civic, as boring and pedestrian as any car ever seen. Sarah smiled up at him, a bit abashed, but mainly pleased with her efforts. "What's wrong with it?" she cooed, playing dumb very well.

"Don't give me those innocent eyes, you little she-devil," he hissed, marching back to his once-proud horseless chariot, pointing an accusing finger at her. "It's not worthy to be looked at!"

Sarah sighed, a hand at her hip. "Okay, if you're going to be a _baby_ about it – change it. To something more modest this time!"

Jareth refused to take his boring gaze from her face, mouth set in a fierce scowl. A snap of his fingers, the car changed – cherry red and appropriate to Formula One racing, _not _for driving into suburban Upper Nyack.

Huffing, Sarah focused and tried her hand at shape-shifting again. A green four-door sedan.

Jareth made it a Lotus.

Sarah made it a Geo.

"My _last offer_," he hissed at her, snapping his fingers in a way that definitely signaled his finality in dealing with the topic. "Or hang your family, we'll spend the holiday in _my bedroom_." A little apprehensive, Sarah glanced at the car, which was giving off smoke and a faint scent of ozone...

"Oh." A black Mercedes. Shiny, elegant, but in any other way rather ordinary. "This is...understated for you, Goblin King."

"I have the distinct impression that, coming from your lips, that is an insult of the highest order."

"Relax," she smiled, grabbing for the passenger side handle – it was warm under her touch. Man, she hoped they hadn't irreparably damaged the space-time continuum... "It looks...great. Honestly." Jareth huffed, saying nothing, and stalked his way over to the driver's side, yanking the door open before sliding into the smooth leather of the seat. "Um..."

"_Yes_?"

"It's nothing! Just...are you sure I shouldn't drive? Since you've never-" Before Sarah could say another word – before she'd even locked her seat belt in – Jareth was violently twisting the key in the ignition and had slammed his foot on the gas pedal. Yelping, Sarah slid almost to the floor of the car, her weekend bag smacking with a dull thud into the dashboard of the car. "_Jareth_!"

"Yes, love." His tone had lightened considerably. Tangled up as she was at the foot of the fawn-colored leather seat, she could see the faintest of smiles playing across his face. It figured – give a man a fast car to play with, and the stresses of the day could hardly matter.

"Are you trying to get me killed!"

"While I admit you rile me clear to the temptation of it, no, it was not one of my plans for the afternoon."

"Then _slow down_!"

"As the lady wishes..." Quite abruptly, he hit the brake, and Sarah's head cracked against the glove box with a sickening "Thud."

She glared at him, rubbing the back of her head and crawling with all the dignity she could muster back into her seat. "You did that on purpose..."

"Love!" he protested, motioning out the window. "Stop sign!" Sarah growled and glared in turns, at last clicking the buckle of the seat belt into place, arms crossed over her chest as she grumbled. He looked at her askance as they began a much more sane pace; he seemed truly apologetic. "I'll kiss it and make it better."

"_Don't _touch me."

"Precious thing...don't be like that..."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll _shut up_ and...ugh, put on the radio or something!"

Jareth eyed the knob of the car radio with a bit of mistrustful interest, chewing on his lower lip as he examined it. With a shrug, he hit the button.

"_I could fly higher than an eagle,_

_Cause you are the wind beneath my_-"

"Gods above!" he hit seek. Against her better judgment and righteous anger, Sarah began to giggle a little, watching him fuss with the buttons in outrage.

"_Never gonna give you up_

_Never gonna let you down_

_Never gonna run ar-"_

"_No_." He hit the button again. Sarah was covering her mouth and trying hard not to laugh. "This caterwauling is amusing to you?" he demanded sharply, but the dry look in his eye made her laugh even harder.

"_You've been hit by-_

_You've been struck by-_

_A smooth criminal_!"

"Oh." He considered this, one hand stroking his chin while the other manned the steering wheel.

"Better?" Sarah gasped out between her laughter, tears springing to her eyes while she clutched her sides.

The Goblin King, however, was entirely serious, listening with the intensity of a music professor – or a rock god, Sarah mused. "The beat's very catchy," he admitted, gently waving his head back and forth in time with the rhythm. "But he swallows half his words. It's very distracting."

Stifling the last of her laughter with a great breath, Sarah hummed, trying to focus. "...try one more station?" Jareth nodded in assent, and this time she hit the button.

"_What would I give_

_If I could live_

_Out of these waters_

_What would I pay_

_To spend a day_

_Warm on the sa-_"

Jareth turned the radio off – punched it off, really, with a feral snarl that set Sarah to laughing again. "What has become of humanity!" he lamented, running his hand through his pale hair in an effort to soothe his artistic soul. "Were these the hands that plucked the lyre fit to make the gods weep? These the lips that set such passion upon the earth!"

"Apparently not..." Sarah choked through her strangled laughter, wiping tears from her eyes at his little musical tantrum. "Disney's really popular right now." Jareth's outraged snarl made her laugh all the harder. With great effort, she regained control over herself, gasping and humming a little. "_You _could sing, Jareth."

After a moment's consideration, he seemed to like this idea, for a smirk tugged at his thin lips. "You like my singing, do you, precious thing?"

Well, what to say to that? She could be petulant and say no, not really, but it would have been a lie, and an obvious one at that. She could say she loved when he was singing to _her_, _for _her, but that was far too great a concession. Instead, fishing for a response, she settled on, "Well, you can show me how it's properly done."

"Alas," he sighed, looking very indolent as he leaned back, his wrist thrown over the steering wheel. "I find singing while driving foolish."

"Oh really..." Her voice was dry, an eyebrow raised in sarcastic interest.

"Yes...how can a true perform practice his art in a _vehicle_ – no lights, no costumes, no appreciative audience – stop laughing, Sarah." She tried to smother her giggles, but it only became worse when he set his firm gaze upon her. "You are _wicked_. I fear I shall have to teach you the proper respect." Before Sarah could restrain her laughter any better, he had suddenly released the steering wheel, turning to face her bodily, and Sarah gasped, scrambling up against the passenger side door and waiting for the crashing sound she remembered from her Driver's Education screening of "Blood on the Highway."

"_Jareth_-!" she was beginning to shriek, but he silenced her with two gloved fingers at her lips.

"Sarah, my precious thing, will you _never _learn to trust me? We haven't died yet, have we?" Sarah's gaze flicked to the windshield; they...they were still on the road. They weren't slamming into oncoming traffic or trees or telephone poles...In fact, the car continued on as if it was being driven by a ghostly chauffeur. He wiggled his fingers at her, a smile teasing her at his lips. "Magic, remember?"

Sarah stared at him with wide, green eyes – and then promptly hit him, slamming her right hand into the arm that held his fingers at her lips. With a grunt, he retracted the arm, rubbing at the sore point. "Don't _scare _me like that, you _ass_!"

"But I enjoy your impassioned responses."

"Why are we even driving, then, if you're so damn magical!"

Jareth pursed his mouth, sighing through his sharp nose, gaze back to being hard again. "Yes, why _are _we driving? Could it be because some little girl told her parents we would be _driving _to their residence and I am trying to be _obliging_?"

Sarah wanted to snap that the Goblin King was in no way obliging, _nor _generous, whatever he claimed about himself, but found herself muttering, "I'm not little..." _Way to focus on what's important, Sarah_.

"I know you better than you think, or perhaps better than you know yourself, _little girl_," he repeated deliberately, to watch the fire shoot up in her alluring green eyes. Ahhhh _yes_, to continue to stoke that heated response... "If I offered to simply take us there, you would point out that they would wonder how we arrived. If I were to stop time so that we may travel through it the way one travels through space, you would point out they would wonder how we got there so quickly."

Sarah opened and closed her mouth a few times, thinking very hard on what he said. "...well, why don't you just speed time up, then? So we get there in the blink of an eye, and time has still passed?"

Jareth smirked again, that most natural of looks for him. "Well, in answer to _that_ clever observation – why on earth would I speed up time when I am here, alone, with you?" His smirk widened into a lopsided grin to watch her blush like that. "In a vehicle that drives itself...with that _marvelously _comfortable looking back seat, just over there..."

Sarah turned to look out the passenger window so that he wouldn't see how red her cheeks were. Even so, she could hear him chuckling low in his throat. She wanted to say something crushing and witty, but she just _wasn't _coming up with anything! It was just like him to play dirty like this, flirt wildly just to trip her up... Casting her gaze desperately out the window at the world that went speeding by, she at last perked up when she caught sight of a very welcome sign. "Hey, there's a cafe at the next exit! I've barely eaten today, can we stop?"

"This is just to avoid spending time in the back seat, isn't it..."

"I'm _hungry_..." she whined, turning big eyes on him again. It amused the young woman a little to watch his jaw tighten, to see the muscles working as he ground his teeth. Time for a little payback: she lay her small hand over his gloved one where it rested on the gear shift, turning her eyes wide and soft again. "_Please_, Jareth?"

A growl. "_Fine_." They veered to the ramp with a sharp jerk of the steering wheel, and Sarah found herself glued against the door from the force of it. A car behind them honked its irritation. The Goblin King didn't seem to care.

Sarah decided it was better to cut her loses rather than nettle the fairytale man about his driving, instead clutching at the door handle until her knuckles turned white and they at last parked in front of the roadside cafe. She gave a deep, shaking breath as she unbuckled and prepared to open the passenger's side door – but found it had already swung open, and naturally Jareth was already around the side of the car, offering his gloved hand to assist her out of the seat. The young college girl very much wanted to reject the showy offer, but...the look on Jareth's face suggested he wasn't in the _best _of moods for arguing with, and, wordlessly, she accepted the gesture instead.

The cafe seemed fairly unassuming, tucked onto the corner of a strip mall as it was: people did mill about by counters and coffee-stained tables, but it wasn't particularly bustling. No doubt most local patrons were already busily preparing for the holiday weekend, but the young girl with the short, blonde bob behind the counter beamed when they walked in. "Hi! Welcome to Coffee Corner, we have coffee on the corner!"

Sarah watched Jareth's face drop into his smooth, gloved hand, his sharp eyebrows arched upwards in a look of pain. "That's not _honestly_ your selling point, is it?"

The girl barely missed a beat, pressing on through her opening pep-talk-come-welcome in hopeful desperation. "Our special this weekend is the Super Sin-namon Pumpkin Pie latte with whip, and we have cookies – _in the shape of a turkey_." This last point she seemed especially proud of, pointing to a glass display case where, sure enough, a row of gingerbread turkeys lay patiently in wait to be the lucky chosen ones. "What can I get for you?"

"Hi..." Sarah hesitated, stepping up to the counter and noticing the green name stitched onto the girl's white apron, stained as it was by variously colored liquids. "Um...Melissa. I'll take the super pumpkin whatever and the salad."

"Here or to go?"

Sarah looked up at Jareth, who...still seemed to be taking the whole place in, his features set in a grim expression. Occasionally, his dark amber colored eye would twitch. "Um...here, I guess."

"And for you, sir?" No response. "Sir?" The girl looked nervously at Sarah.

"_Jareth_." She snapped her fingers at him – maybe not the safest choice, but he _did _come back to this plane of existence, cold eyes fixed on her in a way that might usually make her shiver, but damn if she wasn't getting used to it by now. Barista Melissa, however, seemed a bit concerned. "What do you _want_?"

"_You know _damn _well what I_ – oh. You mean as a preferred beverage." Sarah rolled her green eyes. What la-la-land was he visiting? "I don't care. A hot beverage, sweetened, with cream. And one of the...poultry...biscuits, I suppose..."

The girl was writing on his paper cup. "Drip coffee...sugar...room for cream. Anything else? Um..." She went a little boneless at the hardened stare the Goblin King was fixing on her; yeah, clearly there were some other things he wanted, but he seemed...not irritated, because that didn't even come close to explaining the hint of his mood. He seemed _offended _the barista would dare to even inquire, if that made any kind of sense (and Sarah would be the first to agree that no, it did not).

Sarah just grabbed his arm, taking the small plastic sign handed to her. "Don't bother asking," she assured the girl, and dragged her travel companion away to a somewhat cleanly booth, plopping down with a tired, stressed sigh.

Jareth's humor hadn't improved, and he twirled the plastic sign (number 13, naturally) between his fingers, lips cast in an annoyed frown. "What is this placard for."

"So the server knows what our order number is, and where we're sitting – would you stop with the contact juggling?"

He did not stop. "Sarah – I ask for so little." _Oh boy, here it comes..._ "Let's just stop time for a _small _while, take a brief detour to the Castle, and-"

"Would you _keep it in your pants_ already, Jareth? No one said you had to come with me anyway!"

"I'm so _glad _my company is _appreciated _by you, _precious thing_."

Sarah ignored the baiting in his voice, a sudden thought causing her to touch her cheek. "Oh crap – do you even carry money?"

"_What_?"

"I can pay, it's fine, but...I didn't even _think _of what might happen if we need gas or something-"

"I create a vehicle from nothing but the stuff of dreams and you are worried about _petrol_? Besides," he snorted, at last setting the sign back on the table. "_Surely _you have enough funds after my _generous _tip at the theatrical performance."

Sarah felt her ears begin to burn with righteous indignation. "That _was _you at the theater that night!"

Jareth, the Goblin King, _actually _rolled his eyes at her. "Obviously."

"For your information, I haven't used your 'generous,' gift because it's counterfeit."

"Don't be such a nitwit, Sarah. You think I don't know how modern mortal finances work? Do you have any inkling _how much time for study _I am afforded in the Underground?"

"Are you telling me you just _magicked _up gold-backed currency?"

He snorted, chin resting on his palm for a moment, gazing lazily out the window. "You used to have a much broader imagination, you know."

"What, to fit your _broad_, fat head?" she shot back, hands balled into fists. "You didn't go there to _help _me, you went there to make me look crazy, make yourself a nuisance, and _flirt with my friends_!"

"Why _Sarah_, are you jealous?"

"Oh, _dream on_!" Neither seemed to notice that their voices had gotten louder and they were attracting stares from the other patrons of the cafe. "I'm jealous of the people who don't have magic, psycho _stalkers _showing up at their windows at night!"

"If it's so _offensive _to you, maybe you shouldn't keep opening them up to let your stalkers _inside_! Just admit that you won't accept the things I give you because you're vain, proud and _stubborn_!"

"I don't _accept _them because this is you trying to _control _me again!"

"Oh, so taking care of you is controlling!"

"I don't want to be taken care of, Jareth! I'm not a child and I'm not helpless and I'm not your precious thing!"

"_So you keep reminding me_! You're a spoiled, ungrateful-"

"Fuck yeah, dude, tell it like it is!"

The would-be lovers abruptly stopped their arguing, mouths instantly clamping shut and both sets of eyes peering up at the slightly greasy looking server looming over their table, carrying the ordered coffees and salad.

"..._what_?" Sarah was the first to speak, more confused and surprised than offended at this point in the conversation.

The young man (he looked to be about Sarah's age) was still addressing Jareth, setting their orders in front of them. "I get so sick of seeing these couples come in where the girl's got the dude by the balls! You gotta put 'em in their place, right, bro?"

Sarah looked back at Jareth across the booth, who blinked once, twice, just absorbing what the young orator had to say. "'Bro?'" he repeated with an almost academic interest.

"It means-"

He raised his gloved hand at her from across the table, but still did not look in her direction. "I know what it means." Keeping his attention fixed on the young man, he mused, "Put them in their place..." He then did a strange thing, even for Jareth.

He threw his head back and began to laugh.

Sarah's lips pursed, watching him. She definitely wanted to be offended by this point, but found her companion's behavior too disturbing to make it that far in her process of thought. Other cafe patrons were apparently trying very hard to ignore the soap opera going on but a few feet away, amongst awkward, whispered murmurs. Jareth's laughter was so intense and haunting, it caused the young server to begin to halfheartedly chuckle as well.

As abruptly as it had begun, the Goblin King's mirthful laughing had stopped. Without so much as a _whisper _of warning, his lean leg shot out behind the server – impressive, considering Jareth was still sitting – and swiped him behind the ankle so that he fell forward. Worse than that, Jareth caught him in his downward fall with a gloved hand at the back of his head and _slammed _him into the table. Sarah squeaked, her salad plate rattled with the force of the impact. No one was pretending not to watch now and the cafe was _silent_.

Jareth, Sarah mused in this utterly bizarre and surreal moment, did not need to be dressed in Goblin armor and regalia to radiate a dark, preternatural power around him. He practically _dripped _malice, authority, and strength, leaning over the table and holding his victim with one easy, claw-like hand. "You _dare _speak to the lady in such a manner?" he was hissing. The ears of the cafe guests were straining to hear. Sarah just sat stock still and watched the quasi-nightmare unfold. "She is a _Queen_ and you, sir, are a _maggot_. You do not deserve to glance at even the toe of her shoe. Do I make myself clear?" The boy squeaked underneath Jareth's iron grip. "_Apologize_."

"I-I'm sorry, man-"

"Not to _me_, you tremendous ignoramus, to _her_. Beg mercy of my Lady and I might be persuaded to spare your pathetic existence."

The poor boy's squeaky, high pitched voice made it sound like he'd just hit puberty in reverse. "_Sorry_!"

"Y-yeah..." Sarah replied quietly, too stunned by everything to really let it sink in. "Just, um...knock that shit off?"

Jareth let him go, slumping back into his seat but adopting a proud, elegant and smooth posture, looking as darkly powerful as she had _ever _seen him in the Labyrinth. Eying Sarah's coffee, he caught hold of the cup before she could. "Did you make this slop?" The server nodded. Jareth shoved it back at him; Sarah was just glad he hadn't dashed it all over the floor. "Take it back. And do it _properly _this time." Tail between his legs, the young man scurried back behind the safety of the cafe's double doors.

...after a long, tense moment, quiet talking resumed in the coffee shop. Sarah, however, could _feel _every single person's eyes on them. Well, whatever. It wasn't really worth worrying about right now. She just stared at the Goblin King instead. "Jareth..." she started hesitantly.

"This is not up for discussion at the present time."

"Hi!" Melissa was back, holding a newer version of Sarah's coffee in her right hand. Damn, that girl could have smiled in the face of a hurricane, Sarah mused. With everyone in the coffee shop staring at them, the young barista just stood there. Beaming. Probably just as well it was the girl who came with the coffee and not her coworker; Sarah had little doubt Jareth had sent him straight home with an acute case of pants-wetting. "You weren't happy with the last one?" she asked Sarah, looking very genuine in her concern.

"I, uh..." Miss Williams caught the Goblin King's hard, cold eye from across the table. It was just not worth being snarky right now; Sarah made a strangled sound and shrugged.

"So sorry!" the girl said with a sad, pouting frown, about to hand the latte to Sarah-

Jareth snatched it as if from midair, removing the plastic lid and sniffing theatrically. "This is not good enough."

"No, it's fine!" Sarah reached out to take it, found her fingers brushing his on the cup. He still sort of glared at her. "...really. It's fine."

With an overdone sigh, Jareth gave her the coffee, sitting back and resuming his look of regal petulance.

"Okay! That will be $10.80!" Sarah handed her a twenty and _begged _she keep the change. "Okay, thank you, come again soon! Thank you!" Sarah shoved lettuce into her mouth faster than she ever had in her entire life, desperate to be out of the coffee shop and away from all those people staring at them. Jareth really didn't seem to care one way or the other, still elegantly brooding at the table. Sarah abandoned the booth with all possible haste, grabbing the Goblin King by the wrist and _dragging _him back to the waiting car.

The ability to unleash some well deserved hell had worked wonders on Jareth's mood: he was quite calm when he slid into the cream-colored leather seat of the car, testing the steering wheel gingerly with his gloved fingers. He even waited for Sarah to buckle her seat belt this time before taking off from the parking lot.

There was a minute or two of silence before Sarah at last spoke up. "Jareth?" He flicked his eyes at her to indicate he had heard, but said nothing. "...why did you do that?"

"The impertinent snot needed to learn some manners."

"Not that I disagree, but – you say stuff like that to me all the time; you know, showing me my place or otherwise being stupid and degrading."

Jareth snorted, which surprised her: she almost expected him to get hot headed again. Maybe he was worn out? "I can speak to you as I please. _I _am your equal."

She wasn't sure exactly why, but Sarah felt herself blushing at that. "W-what?"

"If that little coffee wench spoke to _me _the way you do, I would have had her thrown to the Goblins and then had her flayed with the cat-o'-nine-tails before dropping her in an oubliette. And yet, my love, I do not do the same to you. Do you not wonder why I brook such infuriating insubordination from you?"

"I...I'm your equal?"

He smiled that smirking smile then, eyes never leaving the road; a smile that was dark and _deeply _pleased, mind enjoying some delicious fantasy of its own creation. "As I have told you...you were made to be a Queen in the Underground. That _cretin _is not fit to serve slop. I am the Goblin King; I will speak to you however I damn well please." He fixed her with that hard stare and Sarah gulped a little. "_Not _that I expect you'll refrain from arguing about it. But I will not allow _anyone _else to go near what is mine. Do I make myself clear?"

Magnanimously, Sarah chose to ignore that last part of his statement. "Not that the kid didn't seriously deserve it – but what you did was completely out of line and unnecessary and-" Still looking at her like that, a steely flash through his ethereal eyes. "...thanks, Jareth."

The Goblin King blinked at her, apparently surprised, fixing his stare back down the long, winding road. "Well...you're welcome, Sarah."

The drive went more smoothly and quietly after that.


	4. Chapter 3 - Part 2

A.N.: Wow, you guys really came through on the reviews, I was super flattered. More than that, it let me know that I was on the right track for this. So, enjoy the last section of author's notes (at least until the end), and the peachy goodness that follows. You guys are awesome.

Jareth's musical tastes do not reflect those of the author, and the selection (both of music and cars) was solely due to what I could find was popular around 1989. But seriously, I think you guys can probably figure out what I like by now.

I swear to God I once had a dream I owned a cafe called "Coffee Corner." My dream-business ran about as successfully as this last one did, and mine didn't even have Goblin Kings wrecking shit up for an excuse.

So, how come more fics don't have Merlin in them? Merlin's awesome! Team Sheepdog! Also, pagers, huh? Who remembers _that_!

**The Riddle: The Girl With the Blaze in Her Eyes - Part Two**

OvO

"_Sarah_!" Toby had launched himself at his big sister, arms wrapped around her waist, both legs around her thigh, so that he clung to her like a koala in a branch.

The young college girl nearly fell over with the weight of him – except that Jareth's hand had wrapped around her upper arm, holding her steady and observing the scene with some interest. Sarah would have been observing him right back, confused as she was, but she was rather distracted with her half brother wrapped around her leg. "Toby!" she smiled, tousling his hair. "You know Karen doesn't want you doing that."

"Toby, you know I don't want you to do that!" Karen was hurrying down the steps of the old Victorian, shaking her finger at her young son. She sighed, hands on her narrow hips as the boy slid down with a thwarted, guilty expression. "You're going to knock someone over someday and they'll break their heads open, and then how would you feel?"

"...bad?"

"_Inside_." The boy stomped theatrically up the steps, the shaggy dog Merlin waiting for him in the doorway, tail wagging appreciatively. Seeing his mistress, however, the old sheepdog _bound _across the threshold, jumping around her like he was still a puppy.

"Oh, Merlin!" Sarah knelt and hugged him close to her around the neck as his tongue gave her sloppy kisses. "I missed you too, boy." Jareth eyed the animal with a cool, displeased expression. Merlin, it seemed, felt similarly, for as soon as he'd been satisfied to get his smell all over his girl again, he gave the Goblin King one quick, peremptory stiff – and stiffened nose to tail before growling low in his throat.

"Merlin!" Karen was scolding, clucking her tongue. "Bad dog, behave!"

Merlin had never minded Karen's threats at the best of times. Now, he was as determined to protect his herd as his ancestors had been against wolves in the shadows. And this one _definitely _smelled like a wolf. "_Woof_!" His bark was low and proud, refusing to go near Jareth, barking like mad. "_Woof, woof_!"

"Merlin!" Karen was scolding. No, still barking. Growling now, too, hackles raised. Sarah briefly felt nervous. Jareth made a, "tsk," sound in his throat, picking up Sarah's abandoned bag and tipping his beak-like nose into the air. "_Bad_ Merlin, garage!" He began to whine.

"Karen, no, he's just-"

Nope, still no mercy for the mutt. "_Garage_, Merlin." With a most pathetic whimper, the poor, defending beast dragged himself from the front yard, looking downcast the entire way to the garage door. Karen rang her hands with entreaty. "I am _so sorry_, Jareth!" she sighed. "I hope you won't let that dumb dog bother you while you're here."

"Merlin's not dumb!"

"Please, Mrs. Williams-"

"Karen."

"_Karen_," he purred, taking her hand and kissing it in greeting so that she giggled like a school girl again. Sarah groaned and rolled her eyes. "Perish the thought. I am dying to see your _lovely_ home."

"O-oh!" she blushed, the kissed hand to her cheek. "Well! Come inside and we can take a tour and get you settled, I'm sure you're tired from the trip!"

Karen had already disappeared back into the house when Sarah made to follow – before Jareth caught her by the elbow, yanking her back to whisper in her ear even as she made a strangled noise of surprised protest. "I see your fluffy friend remembers me from the park, even in a...change of attire."

"Aren't dogs supposed to be an _excellent _judge of character?" Sarah hissed. The King actually grinned at her, which unsettled her deeply.

"Run away if you're scared, little girl. Or maybe..." He pulled her in closer by the elbow, so that his words drifted across her temple. "You _like _dangerous men."

She grimaced, struggling against his grip. "I admit you did scare me – but I'm tougher than even you think I am. So come on, keep the sexy threats coming, Goblin King."

His feral grin became a scowl. "You know, you're not half as cute as you think you are."

"And _you_," she snapped, at last yanking her elbow free. "Are not half so charming. Now, are you going to go wow my parents or do I have to make more wishes to get you to go away?"

"_Sarah_?" Karen's voice calling form the still open doorway. "Are you two coming inside?"

Jareth smoothed back his hair, settling his shoulders, and a glamor of calm, luxuriant elegance washed over him. A charmer fit to sweet talk the stars out of their paces; Sarah honestly was not sure how she felt about that. "Just keep your _mongrel_away from me."

"Oh, don't you worry your fuzzy little head, Merlin will leave you alone – he only sleeps on _my _bed."

"_Sarah_!"

"_We're coming_!" Before Jareth could stop her, she'd snatched back her carry-all and stormed back up the stairs. Sarah took an appreciative look around. It felt strange to know she'd been gone from home for so long now, the longest she'd ever been away. There was a slight pang in her chest as she felt Jareth take his place slightly behind her; if he had his way, would she ever return again? Giving the hall a once over, Sarah asked, "Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he'll be down!" Karen assured, leading her step-daughter and her gentleman companion into the comfortably set living room, cups of hot apple cider steaming on a porcelain tray (Toby was already inside, helping himself to the snacks on the tray). "He just had to finish a few calls before the holiday weekend, you know." Brow furrowed in frustration, Karen did tilt her head over the stair banister. "_Robert_!" There was a muffled cry from upstairs in Mr. Williams' office, and his wife grumbled as she returned to the sitting room, smoothing a smile back over her features. "He will be _right _down," she insisted.

"Toby," Jareth was beginning, pulling an object from his pocket wrapped in paper napkins. "I have a gift for you." Sarah began to choke on her cider.

"Oh dear, Sarah?" Karen asked, looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Hot," she coughed. "It's just...hot..."

"Blow on it first, silly."

"A present? For me?" Toby's shy nature never appeared around the Goblin King, Sarah noticed. What on earth had happened while she was busy dragging herself through the Labyrinth? Boldly, the little lad pulled himself onto the sofa next to Jareth, bright blue eyes curious. "What is it?"

Jareth pushed aside the paper napkins with a flick of his fingers. "A turkey cookie, I've been told."

"_Wow_!" The little boy's eyes were wide, one finger delicately tracing the smooth, white icing over the bird shaped confection. He gave his mother pleading eyes. "Can I, Mom?"

Karen sighed. "I suppose...but you have to eat _all _of your vegetables at dinner." While this usually would have prompted severe protests, it was apparently worth the trade to Toby, and he immediately stuck the creature's head into his pink mouth. "Really, Jareth, you're spoiling him! He took that glass paper weight you gave him to show and tell."

"I'm just happy _someone _likes my gifts, Karen," he smiled, resting one long arm along the back of the couch so that his fingertips brushed Sarah's shoulder. She glared at him over her steaming mug of cider.

"It's gingerbread!" Toby cried with muffled happiness, spilling crumbs all over his lap.

"Toby! Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"What? I was given to understand it would taste of poultry."

"No!" Toby was giggling, trying to swallow down the gingery mush in obedience to his mother. "You're funny!" Jareth was...smiling at Toby. Not even smirking, actually quietly smiling, like he was _happy_. Sarah felt a knot in her stomach. Oh _crap_. She knew he stole babies for a living, but that had not translated in her mind into an actual _enjoyment _of children. She wasn't convinced that's what it meant, but...but he looked so...Her heart started to pound-

_No_. _Knock that sentimental shit off right now, he is _so _playing._

...but what if he wasn't?

"Alright, sorry about that." Robert staggered into the room, looking very weary. He seemed none the better for taking notice of his daughter's incorrigible suitor. "The Henderson account, you know..." he muttered to no one in particular, eyes set on Jareth the entire time he spoke.

"I do hope it's nothing serious," Jareth murmured in an easy going reply, strange eyes half hooded.

"Nope, nothing at all! Everything's under control." Mr. Williams was wringing his hands so tightly, the sinews of his wrist could be seen against his skin. "_So_. Pleasant trip?"

"Yeah..." Sarah hesitantly replied, deciding against sharing details, watching her father. "You okay, Dad?"

"Mhm! Couldn't be better!" Robert sank next to his wife on the loveseat, shoving small pastry appetizers in his mouth to keep from saying something about, oh, how this Jareth King was too old for his daughter, or that he didn't approve of his hand on her knee like that, or _why in the hell hadn't he gotten bigger pants yet_? For her part, Karen sighed. Bless his heart, he really was trying. How Sarah would appreciate that, she felt sure, if she only knew. Not unlike his son, Robert said around a mouthful of filo dough, "How were midterms, pumpkin?"

"Good, I think...But now I have to read about this group of people who think caves make girls pregnant, and-"

"Topic change! Anything else, _please_. Jareth!" Surprised, the fey looked back at Robert seated across the coffee table from him as his prospective father-in-law clutched his knees with white knuckled desperation. "Tell me you follow sports, I will literally accept _any _sport over this thread of conversation."

"Ah..." For once, even the Goblin King was caught off guard. "I have always been fond of the Afghan game buzkashi."

"Booze...what now?"

His lips formed a grin over sharp teeth. "Buzkashi. It's rather like polo. Only instead of a ball, one uses the stuffed head of a goat-"

"_Cool_!" Toby shouted around a mouthful of cookie.

"-and opposing players are allowed to whip each other with-" The Goblin King suddenly went silent, half rising form his seat on the sofa. Karen and Robert shared a concerned glance.

Sarah quickly leaned over to hiss at him, unsure whether she was glad he'd stopped that particular story or not. "_What is it_?"

"Someone's wishing," he muttered, eyes glazed and focused on something far in the distance, features set.

"What's that? Wishing?" Karen asked, leaning forward to see if she could help.

"U-uh," Sarah stammered, sitting up and almost wishing she'd accepted Jareth's offer of a weekend in his bedroom, if only to spare herself this _nightmare _of a trip home. "Not wishing! Um...f-fishing! It's...our pet name thing?" Jareth found this startling enough to pull him out of his otherworldly focus and stare at her, slack jawed.

Even Karen was staring. "It is...?"

"Ahaha, totally..." Calling on all of her talent as an actress, even more than had seen her through her midterm, Sarah seized Jareth's face with one of her hands, the other holding the sharp point of his chin. "S-someone's fishing for kisses, baby!"

Jareth gave a weak laugh in reply while Toby pulled a face. "How right you are, precious thing...but I think my..._pager _is going off."

"Oh, I can show you where the phone i-"

"_I'll do it_!" Sarah jumped to her feet and grabbed her supposed lover by the wrist, dragging him the rest of the way off the couch and hurriedly down the hall.

Everyone left in the living room sat staring at where the young couple had disappeared through the door – everyone but Toby, he was helping himself to the rest of his sister's cider. Karen finally moved to clear away the snack dishes, and Robert gave a low cough. "That story about having to read about caves getting girls pregnant...you don't think she was _hinting_, do you-"

"Robert Williams." Karen shoved the tea tray into his hands, looking quite cross. "If you don't stop your paranoia about Sarah and her boyfriend this instant, I'll put you in the garage instead of Merlin."

Whatever her father's paranoia, Sarah was wise enough to know the frantic, hushed conversation they were having in the hallway would have done nothing to comfort him. "Wishing?" she demanded. "Where!"

"_I don't know_," he hissed. "But I _have _to answer it."

If Sarah thought about arguing with him on it, the notion was a brief one. "They're going to notice if you're gone! Will it take long?"

"No, of course not." Jareth waved one hand dismissively while the other he held to his temple, seeming quite physically taxed by his call from elsewhere. "I'll issue the challenge, have Hoggle lead them into an oubliette, and sit out the rest of the thirteen hours here. Oh, _what_," he snapped at the fierce scowl she was giving him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Do _you _have a better idea?"

Sarah huffed: it wasn't that she liked encouraging his gobliny nature, but it _did _seem the better option than fielding a lot of questions about where her "boyfriend," had disappeared to so hurriedly. "...what am I supposed to tell Dad and Karen?"

"I don't know, something that _doesn't involve fish_?"

"_You were talking about goat heads_! I had to say _something_!"

"And you call yourself an actress..."

"Just...you're sure you won't take too long?"

A grin slowly spread over Jareth's features again, a proud, maniacal one. With two elegant fingers at her chin, he _purred_. "Why, precious...are you jealous?"

"Just _go_," she growled, shoving him away – and then immediately grabbed his arm again. "No, wait!"

"_What_? The Goblins are running riot, time is of the essence!"

"Take the car!" she hissed. Jareth looked at her like she was mental. "They'll _notice _if you're gone and the car's here."

The King smiled more conservatively this time, running his thumb along the edge of her chin. "You are a clever little thing, aren't you?"

"_Go _already!" With no more ceremony than that, Jareth had disappeared, leaving Sarah to converse with the empty air where he had been not a second before. Oh what a tangled web and so forth...dragging her feet a little, she carried herself to the kitchen, figuring she could at least help get dinner on the table.

Karen was peeling vegetables when she walked in, and watched her step-daughter with quiet interest. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, he had to go into town real quick, see some...constituents?" She hope that sounded more convincing than it felt.

"I didn't know being a lobbyist required such odd hours."

"Well, you know..." Sarah muttered, picking up a vegetable peeler to assist in tackling a line of colorful squash. "Politicians..."

"Mm." Karen nodded and for a little while, affable silence reigned, excluding the wet slice of peeler on vegetable skin. "He's awfully pale."

"Huh?"

"Jareth. He's quite the palest man I've ever seen. He's not sick, is he?"

"British..." Sarah muttered, gaze burning imaginary holes into the squash she was flaying.

"_Ohhh_," as if that explained everything. There was another long pause before Karen put her vegetable peeler down. It startled the girl somewhat, but she refused to take her eyes off her vegetables or stop peeling. "Sarah?"

She spoke with such intensity, the girl had to drop the tool, shaking slightly as she met that gaze. _Please don't ask about Jareth, _please _don't ask about Jare_- "Yeah?"

"You know I've never tried to replace your mother, even though I have tried to be a stable influence in your life."

For some reason, this did nothing to stop Sarah's shaking. "Y-yeah, I know..."

"I know it's only been five years since your father and I married, but there's something I want you to know as well."

Sarah gulped – hard. There was no way this could go well. "What is it?"

Suddenly, Karen's hand was covering her own. Sarah stared at it, stared at the smooth fingers and the ring her father had placed on the third finger of the left hand; she thought, briefly, of how every glint of the diamond used to send Sarah into a personal tizzy, and she thought of how suddenly that had changed, when she had been forced to grow up. "I can never replace your mother, and I don't want to. But I do want to tell you I couldn't be prouder of you if you were my own daughter, and I honestly couldn't be happier to get to be a part of your family."

Sarah had not stopped shaking. "W-what brought this up?"

Karen was smiling in an easy, affable way. "Well, tomorrow's Thanksgiving. Time to say what you're grateful for, right?"

Without any warning, without any prior knowledge on her part, Sarah found her arms wrapped around her step-mother. She wasn't sure why, but she was definitely still shaking.

OvO

The family dinner was almost over when Jareth stumbled into the dining room, his face drawn and pale, his casual clothes slightly mussed, his hair no longer slicked back on his head. Up until that point, things had seemed almost normal (with the exception that Toby willingly ate his vegetables), the Williams clan chatting about work and school like they always had before Sarah had gone away to college.

She couldn't have said why, but seeing the Goblin King fussed up like that set something off inside Sarah, and she put one of her fists to her hip, fixing him with a sly look. "So, how was this one? Young, beautiful? Positively grateful?"

"The _politician _was young and grateful?" Robert repeated, looking very confused.

Jareth dropped into a chair next to Sarah, helping himself to what remained of dinner. "_He_," the fey king corrected, not meeting her withering glance in the slightest, and not caring to. "Was young, yes, and spotty faced, and even less grateful than _you _were, precious thing."

"What is it that you do as a...child lobbyist, Jareth?" Karen asked as she passed him different dishes, just as baffled as her husband.

The strange man took a long, deep drink of red wine before sighing and meeting Mrs. Williams' eyes with a tired smile. "I...lobby on behalf of children who need to be placed in other homes."

"You haven't done anything untoward," Robert was protesting with real alarm, "to make Sarah assume a young woman would...express gratitude inappropriately over this – have you?"

Jareth smirked, at last looking Sarah dead in the eye with his mismatched gaze. She tried to meet him look for look, but felt a kind of curling sensation between her hips and squirmed slightly under his stare. "_Never_, Mr. Williams," he assured. "My Sarah is jut more of a jealous Queen than she likes to admit."

"You _wish_."

"I do – most fervently, every night when I say my prayers before bed." He sighed, seeming to find a little energy from the food. "It's a wonderful meal, Karen, your talents are only surpassed by your beauty."

"J-Jareth," she laughed while Robert glowered. "I'd say thank you, but Sarah helped a good deal."

"_My _Sarah?" he replied in mock surprise. "Working like a little scullery maid? _Well _now." Before she could stop him, Jareth had reached over and seized her right hand, turning it over between his fingers so he could stroke her open palm. "Precious thing – you've gone and cut yourself, right here." He touched the wound and Sarah hissed.

"I just sliced it when I wasn't paying attention, that's all."

"Nonsense...let me make it better." His whispered this in a low, husky voice, and brought Sarah's index finger to his lips, letting his kiss linger there – _far _longer than was appropriate. The tip of his tongue tasted the injury, he sucked lightly at her finger. Sarah suspected Jareth was _well _aware of the fact her father's face was turning an eggplant shade of purple at this salacious display, and suspected just as fiercely that he didn't care. _She _did, however, and yanked back her hand quickly.

But damn, she could feel the pounding of her pulse _between her hips_. That was just not fair.

And stupid _Jareth_ just smirked at her from across the table, quietly finishing his meal while her father and Karen had to make awkward small talk _no one _was listening to.

"Well!" Robert was standing up, struggling to keep his temper in check. "You both look tired. How about we get you settled?"

"Yes, _please_, Mr. Williams." Jareth grinned again. Sarah kicked him under the table.

"This way, please..." the father muttered in reply, eyes dark with private observances. Wordlessly, Jareth stood from the table and followed him, catching Sarah at the elbow as he did so; he seemed determined to keep her close by, and she struggled lightly, blushing a bit. Robert made light conversation as they went up the stairs, pointing out linen closets if he needed more blankets or towels, or just speaking generally about the last time they'd had the place painted. Jareth nodded his head politely the whole time, occasionally making small sounds of feigned interest, but otherwise said not a word. In fact, he barely seemed to notice when Mr. Williams stopped outside a door – a door that was _not _Sarah's. "And here's the guest room."

"...I'm sorry, what?" The Goblin King at last was paying attention, standing up straight, fingers digging into Sarah's elbow.

"The guest room...for you..."

"...separate rooms?"

"G'night, Dad," Sarah quickly interjected, going on tip-toe to kiss her father on the cheek. "It's been a long week, so I'm going to tuck in. See you in the morning." She was relieved Robert made no more protest than that, slinking silently back downstairs with a pointed look. Jareth, however...

"_Separate rooms_?"

"Well, yeah...what did you expect?" No answer. Which was, quite possibly, worse than his most sarcastic, cruelest ripost. "Um...I'm going to go get ready for bed. Night, Jareth." Still no answers. Sarah decided against disturbing him, hurrying back to her bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

Gods above, what a day. The finals, her roommate's boyfriend, the cafe, all of that had been enough to pack into one week, let alone one Wednesday, but none of those things were what Sarah was bothered by at the moment; no, that particular issue was one that centered around squishy feelings that she hadn't wanted to confront now, or really ever in the near future. Having laid out pajamas, Sarah turned out her bedroom light and shut the door as she padded off to brush her teeth, still deeply absorbed in thought. First of all, did Karen have to go and blindside her with her...affection like that? Even all these years later, Sarah was still struggling to balance her sense of devotion to her father and the family he had created, and her mother and her star-studded life. It would not have been easy in the best of circumstances. Sarah had walked a fine line of neutrality between her two families, but if she were to be honest, Linda was not quite the mother Karen was: she was short tempered, dramatic, selfish – all the things Sarah had been before she ran the Labyrinth. Which was not to say Karen was perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but...she put her family first, which Linda did not, could not, do.

Spitting into the bathroom sink, Sarah fixed herself with a critical stare in the mirror. She looked _just like _her mother – the same long, dark hair, the same flash of green eyes. Well, her button nose was more like her dad's. And yet...she didn't feel like either of her parents. She felt uniquely like herself, which she supposed she ought to be grateful for, but she thought, for just a moment, that if she wasn't so damn special, maybe she wouldn't be dealing with this _other _emotional problem.

Jareth. Her stomach lurched at the thought. A magical king was courting her, was putting almost his entire world on hold to spend a weekend with her family. Maybe we was just doing it to win, to seduce her, to prove a point – but damn if it wasn't working. He was argumentative and brazen and completely frustrating – but he was also charming, and alluring, and he would look at her the way _no one _on earth had ever looked at her, like no one else ever could. Damn it, it was getting worse, every day! Her knees were turning to jelly the more she thought of his lips on her mouth, his hands at her waist. This was how the devil seduced little girls away, but Sarah _could not_ stop herself from drawing nearer and nearer to her strange tormenter. She just...didn't want to.

She sighed, left the bathroom, walked carefully back down the darkened hallway. There was always the faintest of possibilities that Jareth wasn't the liar he'd always appeared to be; that his promises of an eternity of love were genuine, and this was not just another conquest for him, a notch in his belt. It could be that she really had beaten a Goblin King, and for that, he had fallen in lov-

Wait. A soft, pale light was pouring out from under her door, when she was sure she had turned it off when she'd left to brush her teeth. With a sense of foreboding, Sarah set her hand on the doorknob, turned it, opened the door-

There was Jareth – or rather, there was the Goblin King, standing in the middle of her bedroom, holding a crystal in taught, gloved hands. He was not the man she'd seen five minutes ago, dressed in a jacket and tie. He was in full Goblin regalia, a leather breastplate and shoulder piece clearly demarcating that he was prepared for battle. A tattered cape of black silk whipped about him like there was a steady breeze in the breathless atmosphere of her room. And his _face_...his features were set with the hardest, coldest expression imaginable, and he _stared _at Sarah as she entered the room.

"Time to go, love. The Underground awaits us."

Quickly, Sarah shut the door behind her, her back pressed against it. "Jareth, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for my Queen to be ready for her journey home."

"I _am_ home, Jareth, this _is _my home."

"Oh no, you're not," he snarled in response, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her against the hard leather of his armor. "_This _is not home – not anymore. You're to be the Goblin Queen, with a pantheon to attend to your every whim, and a throne next to mine, and servants and gowns and-"

"Stop it, I don't want any of that stuff!"

"What, and you want _this_?" The hand holding the crystal gestured wildly about her room, at the shut door. "This bland domesticity is infuriating! Enough, I will have what is owed me. If a trade is necessary, then _here_, take it." With a vicious snarl, he shoved the crystal at her chest, making Sarah step back at the force of his hand. "Your dreams, _as promised_."

The girl began to shake, taking another step back even as he held her by the wrist. "You said you weren't going to do this..."

"And _you _said you would be the Goblin Queen."

"I fucking did not!"

He pulled her forcefully to him again, ignoring her cry of pain at the sharp tug. "_Every night_," he hissed into her ear, breathing in the scent of her hair with an aggressive gasp. "Every time you opened your window and pulled me in, each time you seared my mouth with those frantic kisses, you gave your feelings away, _my love_." He bent his head and nipped at her ivory throat and Sarah gasped beneath him. "When I put you on my thigh and rocked you back and forth until you could _explode_, your lips _begged _to be mine." He bit harder and she cried out, her fingers going to his shoulders and digging in of their own accord. "Do you deny it?" Sarah was biting her lip so hard, she thought she might have pierced the skin already. Growling at her stubborn lack of response, Jareth cupped at one of her breasts, pinching lightly but firmly with his thumb so that she cried out, buckling against him, her green eyes glazed with need; an ancient need, a need only he could satisfy in her, a need for _him_-

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened. "Sarah?"

Sarah gasped, found herself suddenly out of Jareth's embrace, yet flushed to the tips of her hair. "T-Toby?" she stammered, feeling like she ought to be covering herself up, even though she was fully clothed. "You know you're supposed to knock!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, wide eyed in the darkness. "But I saw the light was on, so I thought..."

"It's okay," she gulped, shaking her head and trying to banish the intense feelings of arousal that were riding rough shod over her abused nervous system. "Did you have a bad dream?" The boy nodded. "You can come in."

Toby did so, shutting the door behind him, and his face lit up. "Jareth's in your room!" Sarah gasped, wheeling to face the bed – God no, Jareth, the Goblin armor, what would Toby-

"Indeed I am, young sir." Jareth was stretched out across her small bed, his hands tucked behind his head over the pillows, legs crossed at the ankle in indolent repose. He...wasn't in the Goblin armor. In fact, he looked like he'd merely stepped out of the guest bedroom, in tight jeans again. No sports coat, though, no tie, just white shirt sleeves that complimented his lithe figure exceedingly well. "A nighttime debate with your _infuriating _sister."

"What's that mean?" Toby asked, tottering over to the bed.

The Goblin King swung his legs over the side, sitting up and pulling the lad next to him. "It means that she's being _mean _to me." Toby gasped and stared up at Sarah, shaking his head in disapproval.

"What?" she asked, tone going dry. "You're taking his side already?"

"What are you two fighting about?" Toby asked, looking up at Jareth with his innocent blue eyes.

"Well..." the fey sighed, smoothing out his hair and carefully selecting his words. "I want to play a game with Sarah, and she doesn't want to play."

"_Ohhh_..." This seemed to make perfect sense to the boy, and he nodded sagely. "Sometimes, my friend Frankie wants to play farm animals, and I don't want to play farm animals, but Teacher Angela said it's good to take turns!"

Jareth fixed her with a smokey stare. "See?"

"You are _not _going to use my brother against me in this."

"But," Toby was quickly amending, very pleased to be providing such wise advice in this matter. "She also says no one can make you play games you don't want to play." Sarah gave a barking laugh of approval while Jareth continued to glower.

"What if your friend is really nice to you, and really patient, and plays _all _the games you want to play first?"

"...I don't know," Toby admitted, seeming very thoughtful at this. "Teacher always just says people can't force you to do things."

Jareth gave a huff, putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "I just don't think Sarah's being _fair _with me, Toby."

This got his attention, and he fixed his wide eyes on his sister at the scandalous rebuke. "Oh, be fair, Sarah."

"Yes, be fair, Sarah."

Rather than rising to that horrible manipulation of _her _baby brother (that _he _had stolen in the first place!) Sarah set her fists at her hips, nose high in the air. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is," she replied in a mocking, sing-song voice.

The Goblin King narrowed his eyes at her. "You sly little min-"

"What game do you want her to play?" young Toby interrupted, looking up at his new best friend again.

"Ah..." Jareth hesitated momentarily, smoothing back his hair. "An grownup-type game."

"What's that?"

"Well...when two post-pubescent adults enjoy one another's company, they engage in a type of touching that-"

"Oh no!" Sarah shouted, grabbing Toby and dragging him off the bed. "That stops right there!"

"What's pubescent?" the little boy repeated.

"It's when your-"

"_Jareth_!"

"Well, he's going to have to learn sometime, _Sarah_."

"_He's four_."

"Is this one of those things Mom sends me out of the room for..." Toby muttered, small blond eyebrows scrunched up.

Jareth smirked a little bit. "It may be." The young boy yawned dramatically, rubbing tired eyes. "It seems your nightmare has passed, and you're ready for bed again."

Toby nodded, Sarah squeezed his shoulder. "Whatever happens, kiddo, you'll be safe, alright? I promise."

He gave her a tired smile, small, round arms stretched out for a hug. "I love you, Sarah."

A pang in her chest, she wrapped her arms around her baby brother and kissed his forehead. "I love you too, Toby..." Jareth watched the exchange with hot, even embittered and envious eyes. "G'night."

"Goodnight..." The boy tottered back off to his own room, and Sarah shut the door behind him with a dramatic sigh, turning back to the Goblin King still sat on her bed.

Jareth was out of both his "street clothes," and his Goblin armor, instead in the open white shirt and grey breeches she knew him best in – and he still held that crystal in his hand. "Well, Sarah? I've been more than generous, even you must see that. I'll give you everything you wanted."

Sarah stared at the crystal, remembered all the many times he'd offered her her dreams before...thought about all the times she'd wanted _so badly _to say yes – and she was still able to shake her head. "No."

Jareth shot to his feet, about ready to pace like a caged predator. "Come now, this stubborn impudence of yours grows tiresome! I happen to _know _what you want, so why do you continue to refuse to just _admit it_."

The girl laughed a little, which seemed to gall him all the further. "You don't, you really don't know what I want."

"Don't I?" He held the bubble closer to her, so close she could hardly help gazing into its depths, seeing all the beauty and the glory held within...just a touch away, if she'd only say yes... "You may be courageous and you may be vain, but I have power yet you cannot even _begin _to fathom."

Sarah tore her gaze away from the crystal and up into his face; in fact, it wasn't even that hard. With the same determined look she had worn in the Escher room thirteen seasons ago – perhaps even more determination, grown and aged as she was – she pointed to the door and quietly replied, "What I want is what I _have_."

For a quiet moment, Jareth simply gawked at her. A moment was all it was, though, for he advanced upon her with the crystal still in his outstretched palm, intending to back her against the door; yet Sarah didn't budge. "Don't be ridiculous, Sarah!" When she made no response, he tried to insist. "Your Tonys, your Oscars! I can give them all to you, they're _right here_. All the love and adoration you ever wanted and it's in your grasp, _why _won't you take it!"

"None of that matters." She shook her head with an insight well beyond her eighteen years. "Don't get me wrong – I still _want _all that stuff...but if I never got a staring role on Broadway...if my name were never in lights, if I weren't on all the covers of all the magazines, but I still had my family – that would be okay. If it were the other way round...I couldn't stand it."

For several tense seconds, Jareth stared at her, a range of emotions she couldn't even begin to guess at playing across his pained eyes. At last, he broke out into a pained laugh that seemed to be hiding a sob, stumbling back away from her, bringing the crystal back in close to him. "That's it, then, is it? You've decided once again your family is more important than your dreams...and still no room for others in your perfect little life, _is there_."

Sarah's eyes closed as he spoke. "I didn't say that."

An unfamiliar sensation nipped at the Goblin King's heart – hope. "..._what_?"

She had to take a deep breath in order to gather up the necessary courage to open her dark, green eyes. "Jareth, you stole my brother, you tormented and teased me mercilessly in the Labyrinth, you've refused to leave me alone for weeks and you're an insufferable _dick_ – but apparently I'm just a moron because...I-I don't want you to go away."

The crystal disappeared; he advanced upon her and seized her hands in his own gloved ones, eyes intense. "Go on. Keep speaking."

"I know I shouldn't trust you, I _know_, b-but..." He put his palm against her cheek, and she had to look up into the intensity of his eyes. Oh God, those _eyes_... "Is it true?"

"Is what true, precious thing." For once, he wasn't mocking her. He stroked her cheek and her hands and spoke very quietly, very soothingly.

"Did Fate...really plan all this?"

He smiled a little – a genuine one, but very small. "As much as I talk, I'm afraid I can't promise to know the mind of Fate quite that thoroughly...but I have felt it since the moment you left the Labyrinth."

Sarah began to shake under his caresses. "I-I know this could all be about winning to you...b-but the more I see you, the more I want you...and you're _here_, in _my house_, and no one really made you...you didn't have to be..."

"I wanted to."

"Why!"

That look again – a look that said she _really _should have known the answer. "Because you're here, Sarah." Her knees began to buckle, he caught her up in his arms and held her in place. "I am thoroughly ashamed of myself, as weak and pathetic as you have made me...but what else can I do? You're here, and so I must be as well."

Damn it, that did her in. She tilted her face to his, and he did not hesitate to claim her lips with his own, run his gloved hands over her waist. This was, probably, the worst mistake she'd made in her life since wishing Toby away to the Goblins, but Jesus Christ, what did the world want from her? She'd resisted him this long, surely a little leniency was in order! His tongue was so hot and full in her mouth, it made her grow weak in his arms and whimper against his mouth, and he swallowed each sound she made and kept it, kissing her with an intensity of passion that would have burned other girls to ash. Sarah gasped when their lips finally parted, her face more flushed than it had been all week. "J-Jareth..."

"_Yes_..." He looked like talking was the last thing on his mind, his swollen lips very near to hers and ready to begin yet more kisses.

"You said you'd make me eighteen forever..."

"And so I shall, little girl."

"But what about my family?"

He paused, quiet at this turn of the conversation. "What about them?" he at last allowed, eyes losing some of the fog of lust.

"What will they say...when they grow older, and I stay the same."

The Goblin King sighed, leaning his chin into her smooth shoulder. "There are a few options...It had been my intent to let you live your life until your lack of progression became obvious, and then arrange an...'accident,' as a convenient excuse to slip away and to our immortal life."

"And leave them here? Never knowing, with all that pain?"

"There's no way to avoid pain, Sarah, no matter what you choose. Don't look like that," he said in a firm, not-quite-cool voice. "I am not saying these things because I wish to inflict pain upon you, but because they are the truth. As insane as those people are, I do not wish them pain because I do not wish _you_ pain." His hands on her shoulders tightened. "It's true that I can be cruel, but your unhappiness..." A sigh. "Rends me apart. It's a weakness I despise, but I can not – and would not – give you up. Even to spare your family."

She could not quite meet the intensity of his look, insisting, "I _can't _do that to them..."

He sighed, but did not move from her embrace. "It is _possible..._that with time and study, if you have taken enough of the magic of the Labyrinth with you, that you could become proficient in using glamors and lend yourself the appearance of age-"

"That!" Sarah pulled away to look into his face, which carried a very mildly amused expression. "Let's do that one!"

Jareth smirked a little. "You'd have to spend a great deal of time with me as my...pupil. Are you ready for such a commitment?"

Another blush, Sarah tried to look at anything but his face – but found this was a losing endeavor. "I-I..." she hesitated before summoning her courage and straightening her posture, able to look him dead in those ethereal eyes of his. "I'm ready to take the next step." It was said quietly, but with a force of commitment that made the fey king's pupils dilate and his hands tighten on her.

Voice low and husky, his breathing seemed to come a little faster. "Are you certain? I'll only ask once."

Was she...? Sarah bit her lip, noticed he watched her slightest movement with a deep interest that made her insides feel molten. God yes, she was certain. "Yes," she nodded, despite her mild, private misgivings. It wasn't that she didn't want it – everything within her did, despite how hard she had tried to fight against it. It was just...a _big _step. And knowing what she knew of _him_...If she didwant to say no, now was the time; Jareth had crossed to her door, quickly turning the lock before backing her towards her little bed, eyes hungry, lips parted. "J-Jareth, wait!"

"_How much longer do I have to wait_?" he hissed, pulling apart the few buttons of his silk shirt before discarding the garment entirely. He could hear the breath catching in his little lover's throat, he could see the way those green eyes of hers drank in his slim, muscled torso. Oh, she could protest, but she _wanted_, poor little girl. But the Goblin King _could _be generous, he'd satiate her...

"M-My dad's right down the hall!" she quickly blurted out, still unable to take her eyes off of his naked chest. "He'd hear everything."

"Hmm, there's my practical little girl..." With a flashing flick of his wrist, a crystal had appeared in his still gloved hand, and he tossed it rather harshly at her door, where it burst and fizzled in a dusty cloud of light and glitter. Sarah squeaked a little and watched it. "There. All better."

"What is it?"

He smirked a bit before running the tip of his tongue over his teeth and lips, still watching her. "Just a little magic. No one outside this room will hear a thing."

"No way."

"What, you don't believe me? Have I ever told you a deliberate falsehood? Watch." With no more warning than that, the insane fey trickster launched himself at one of her walls, pounding with a gloved fist loud enough to surely wake the entire house. "_Mr. Williams! I am going to take your daughter and ride her to the gates of passion until she screams fit to wake the Underground! Speak now or forever hold your peace_!" His shouting speech was interrupted by Sarah frantically throwing a pillow at him, which hit him between the shoulders. The Goblin King merely chuckled.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

"And yet," he purred, turning and scooping up the pillow in one easy motion, "I hear no crash of footsteps signaling my inevitable doom...could it be your father remains blissfully unaware?" He approached her again in a slow, strutting gait, gently tossing the pillow behind her onto the bed. "And now, my Sarah...let's finish what was begun."

She gulped a little as he drew her into his arms, his skin even hotter to her touch now that he was without the shirt. God, he was so smooth and firm under her hands...With a little moan, her fingers unconsciously traveled downward to feel the muscles of his stomach and sides, drawing in a sharp breath as Jareth lay hot, languorous kisses at the soft skin of her throat. Sarah could hear herself whimpering as his hands entwined with her hair to hold her head back, giving him greater access to her throat and collarbone, which he licked and nipped in merciless turns. It felt like he was going to set her on fire! His fingers drew back from her hair to run along her cheeks, her closed eyes, the tip of her nose, her lips. Sarah shuddered under the light touches, they made her skin tingle and cry out for more. Briefly, she entertained the idea of pulling off his gloves very gently with her teeth, could just imagine the look on his face...but she wasn't feeling quiet that courageous yet. Besides, if things went well...there'd be time to try out new tricks later. Opening her green eyes and locking his gaze, she very carefully pulled the smooth silk gloves from his hands, breaths shorter and heavier. His hands were so warm, so elegant...she kissed each palm as she laid it bare and pressed herself close to his body, trembling uncontrollably.

"_Sarah_..." the way he said her name – it was like a benediction. She felt herself shake harder. "Are you afraid of me?" She shook her head but kept her face pressed close to his chest, still trembling. "Of what will happen, then."

She was able to look up at that, green eyes wide in the low light of the bedroom. "I-I guess a little bit." She squeaked as he pulled her sleeves from off her arms, lifting her shirt clear off her body. The sight of her almost-naked torso seemed to overcome the fey king, for her groaned audibly and bent to kiss the uncovered tops of her soft breasts. Sarah whimpered and arched into his caresses.

She had been backed up to her small bed, but Jareth pushed her further now, so that she fell backwards with him looming over her like that. It ought to have been scary in any other circumstance, but right now it made her feel painfully aroused, her body beginning to throb with the promise of what he could and would do to her. It was frightening and thrilling to have him over her, to feel his bare hands undoing the clasp of her blue jeans, and she whimpered as he peeled them off her long, slender legs. "You needn't be frightened," he assured her with a kiss that forced her to press herself into the bed under his weight, intoxicated on sensation. "I would not hurt you – oh, maybe for a moment there will be a little pain." His warm hand pressed against her back, making her arch herself upwards and all the nearer to him. Sarah felt like she was going to lose herself here, and she did not want to stop it. "But isn't that a worthwhile trade? A moment of pain for a lifetime of pleasure?" She gasped when she felt him succeed in unhooking her bra from around her back, trying to cover herself as it slipped from her shoulders – but Jareth did not allow that, taking her arms and wrapping them around his neck. "I'll have no half measures, Sarah. I have wanted you for far too long, I'll hold nothing back..." She could feel his warm fingers hooking into the band of her cotton underwear and she whimpered a frightened protest (or was it an encouragement?) as he pulled those off her as well. Quickly, Sarah tried to scramble under the safety of her sheets, but Jareth seized them and yanked them back away from her as she yelped.

The Goblin King took a step back to look at her appreciatively, his hot gaze lingering over every inch of her milky skin. "J-Jareth..." Sarah protested, very much wanting to cover herself up. "At least turn off the light."

"No. I want to see you." As if this added to his consideration, he took a step forward, laying his hot hands at her bony knees. Deftly, he spread her legs apart – not by much, but enough that he could see her, see the damp evidence of her arousal begin to drip down her soft thighs. Ugh, it was almost a nightmare to be so examined, to feel the heat of his looks on her flesh; Sarah let her head fall back on the pillow, eyes squeezed shut as she was studied more intimately than had ever been done in her entire life. She could hear him breathing – his breath almost seemed to shake within him. What? Was he so undone? By...by her? "You _are _beautiful..." It was a whisper, a murmur, a sound of worship reserved for gods and treasured lovers. With the lightest and most delicate of touches, he barely ran the tips of his fingers over her swollen skin, and Sarah could not restrain a gasp, arching into the movement. His fingers came away slick where he had touched her, and with her eyes still closed, Sarah could hear him pull off the long, elegant leather boots, drop the thin trousers. And then there was the heat of his body...he wasn't on the bed, not yet, but she could feel his presence next to it, feel the heat radiating off his pale skin. "Sarah. Look at me."

"I can't...I _really _can't."

The fingers of his left hand gently grasped her chin and jaw, turning her head on the pillow so that it faced his body. "Look at me, Sarah." If it was an order, it was given with such passionate, desirous longing, she obeyed out of the wish to hear him speak like that again. He'd discarded the last of his wrappings, she could see them in a pile by the foot of the bed, and – _okay_, so his pants had not been exaggerating things. How in the hell was she supposed to...could that even _fit _in...Her eyes flickered up to his face. The King did seem mildly amused, but more than that, he seemed so completely overcome by desire for her that his skin almost _glowed_. She whimpered again as his hand ran softly, lightly, back and forth across her inner thigh, dragging her dampness across her leg as he pet. "Well?" he asked her, voice low, not moving from his spot beside the bed, not stopping in his petting.

"Well what?"

"Do you want me?"

"Don't be such a tease!" she gasped as his fingers moved closer, making her pull at her lip a little with her teeth. "You already know that!"

Jareth leaned his face close to hers so that she could feel his breath on her cheeks, but the bastard would not kiss her. "I want to hear you say it."

Oh, for the love of...well, she'd gotten this far. Being contrary now wouldn't really get her anywhere, and it certainly would not be satisfying enough to be worth dashing his hopes. Sarah closed her green eyes again. "I want you, Jareth..." she whispered, her entire being beginning to tremble with the admission.

Wordless, she felt the bed move as he crawled over top of her, felt the heat and weight of him resting just above her as he supported himself on his forearms at either side of her. Sarah gasped a little as his desire brushed against her own, her eyes shooting open. And there was that face, that haunting face that had loomed so large in all her dreams of this moment – only far more beautiful, far more seductive than any sleeping notion could have made it. "And you shall have me..." He kissed her slowly, firmly on her red mouth, made her part her lips to allow him better access. Sarah gave hungry whimpers as he kissed her, pressing into his every tormenting touch. "All of me..." Jareth assured her when he finally pulled his lips away, watching her face flush with emotion and desire. "No one else but me...ever..." Sarah gasped, cried out a little, as he bent to worship one of her breasts with his mouth, his sharp teeth grazing the tender point of her nipple. The licking, sucking motion was soft but insistent as he caught her flesh with his mouth, making her twine her fingers into the soft silk of his hair. He seemed determined to make her whimper and beg, his mismatched eyes occasionally glancing up to her flushed face to watch her desire mount as he worked. With no more warning than that, Jareth brought one of his fingers between her hips and slid it inside her, moving over her as she gasped and writhed at the sensation. He soothed her aching body with his tongue as she shook beneath him, voice low as she began to cry out and whimper. "Relax, precious thing...let it happen, it's a good thing."

"I-I-"

"Shhh..." His mouth moved to her other breast, leaving the first one damp and covered in gooseflesh as the air cooled it. "Relax...there's a good girl..." A second finger slid into the wet folds of her body, scissoring motions stretching her from the inside so that she bit her lip against the pain and pleasure of it. Jareth moved his mouth from off her bosom to kiss at her throat and lips again. "We're almost ready...I want to make this as easy as possible for you."

"_Jareth_." She couldn't stop herself, one of her slim legs wrapped around his hips, drew him in so that his breath caught in his chest a little. Sarah thrilled a little to watch his eyes dilate, to see how he struggled to retain that mask of practiced composure – and it was _her _tearing him to pieces, it was her riding rough shod over his self-control. It was a marvelous, heady sense of power and she felt as drunk on that sensation as the feeling of his fingers moving gently inside her body. "I-I want it..." she stammered out. She'd never allowed herself to be so wonton, so completely vulnerable. But what else could she do? It was the truth, and the intimacy of his body so close to hers made her trust him against her better judgment, made her want him desperately, want to be a _part _of him. "_I want you_."

His breathing was loud and labored now, and he slid his fingers from her in order to brace himself against the bed; Sarah moaned a protest at the loss of the pressure of his hand, but caught his eyes with her own as he positioned himself above her. "Ready?" It seemed very difficult for him to ask, to hold himself back at all – and she didn't want him to. Her other leg wrapped around him, her arms slid around his shoulders, and a dark, adult desire spread through her green eyes. Sarah nodded.

He pressed himself within her.

She hissed a little, arching her back so that their stomachs and chests touched on one even plain together, no indication of where his body ended and hers began. Lights were pulsing beneath her eye lids whenever she closed them, the sharp, aching feeling of pain slowly giving way to a heavenly sense of completeness she had never known before this moment. He seemed too much for her body to contain, and yet she took him well, would not have allowed any other possibility. Jareth wanted to own her, but so, too, did Sarah wish to own him. She was not weak or little or small – she felt, as he slowly began to move within her, his breathing ragged against her ear, she could take anything he dished out at her, the same as in the Labyrinth. Oh, but he was gentle...tortuously gentle, he moved very lightly and tenderly with shallow grazing of his hips within her. Sarah's soft, pleading whimpers were becoming louder moans of encouragement as she drew him deeper and her fingers dug into the smooth flesh of his back. "_Ah_..._yes_..."

"_Sarah_..." He responded to her every encouragement as if it were an order from a goddess, kissing her throat, stroking her breast, _worshiping _her the way he'd promised since that night in the dark of the campus, with his entire being. So warm, so very warm, it felt like their bodies were catching fire as his movements grew a little faster, a little deeper, a little more desperate. Their skin was damp wherever they touched; Sarah seized his hair and pulled his mouth to hers in an aching kiss, needing to have him fill her above as well as below. Jareth was grabbing her more roughly now, giving her his gasps for breath in the heat of her mouth. Gods, the way her body cradled his...the intensity of tight sensation, the perfect fit of her around him...The Goblin King had had plenty of mind-blowing sexual encounters in his long millenia of existence, but this naive little school girl was burning all memory of them from his mind and from his skin, whether he wanted her to or not. Why did she always surpass his expectations of her, how was it even possible? She knew _nothing _of the adult ways of the world, and yet she moved beneath him with such a desperate yearning he felt as if the core of his body was catching fire. Her eyes, those deep, green pools of eyes were looking at him in such a way that he could not _breathe_. She was _just an ordinary mortal girl_, and yet Jareth found himself adoring her more fiercely than the most beautiful immortal being of the Underground – for it was Sarah that was the most beautiful, here in the half-dark, beneath and around him. The lilting music of her voice as she appreciated his tender ministrations, the perfume of her body, the scent of her hair...it was driving him to madness, and he could not care about what the cost might be. Not now, not with Sarah grabbing at him and pulling him closer, not when she begged for more, more, more – _don't stop, _please_, oh God I want it, I want it, _Jareth, I want you-!

So young, so small, it did not take her long to be overwhelmed by the pleasures he gave to her, and her gorgeous voice cried out, her entire body seeming to lift from the bed with the intensity of her climax. She contracted around him and he moaned low, the most open, honest sound pulled from his lips as she shook and spasmed beneath him, still clinging and pulling at his skin. Another night, he'd have been able to keep going, to build her pleasures higher and higher until she would have come beneath him again; he'd have left her exhausted and too satisfied to move. But tonight he could not. All of the waiting, all of the desperate longing for her had taken its toll on his discipline, and he shuddered at her demanding, worshipful touch, the kisses she was laying across his strong chest. Jareth groaned over her, arched his hips and closed his eyes in desperation as he poured himself within her, shaking as she encouraged him with her touches and her words.

There was a moment when the two were too overwhelmed to move, eyes locked, breathing labored. The Goblin King's arms gave way beneath him, and he rolled to the side to keep from crushing his lover. Sarah rolled with him, not allowing him to pull from her body for the moment, covering his mouth and jaw and the tip of his sharp nose with the most worshipful kisses he had ever felt in his long life. His strange eyes closed as she moved with him, his aristocratic hands coming to rest at the small of her back. With a deep, shuddering breath, he regained control of his senses and gave a long, slow, _sly _smile. "Say it now, Sarah."

"What?" She was hardly paying attention, nuzzling into the crook of his jaw and throat, her tongue flicking against the ridge of his Adam's apple.

Jareth's lips pulled back over white teeth in a terrible grin. Even the purest of little maidens eventually gave themselves up to these earthly pleasures where he was concerned. Sarah had been no different – was she so special, then? "Say I have no power over you," was the quiet, hot demand.

There was a pause; Sarah stopped her kisses and flicked her dark green eyes up at his face. For a very brief moment, the Goblin King felt a pang – perhaps it would have been worthwhile to allow her to continue...Yet where such a statement would have aroused within her more ire and hate than the worst villainy mere moments ago, the girl-turned-woman laughed low in her throat now, folding her palms over his chest and resting her chin there. This confused him, and he returned her looks. Why did she look so...amused? So happy? "Alright, Jareth," she replied with the most delightful, satisfied of smiles on her kiss-reddened mouth. Her dark hair was tangled around her head like a crown where his fingers had knotted it in desperation. "But first, _you _tell me that _I _have no power over _you_."

His entire body stiffened, his pupils becoming pinpricks in his unreal eyes. He gaped at her like a fish. Either oblivious to this or uncaring, Sarah lay her little head upon his chest with a sigh, breathing in his delicious scent, listening to the thrumming of his heart that beat like a lullaby in her ears.

Mere moments – heartbeats – later, she was in the deep sleep of heaven, her body rising and falling with his own as she lay atop him. Jareth held her in the warm circle of his arms and stared up at the ceiling.

OvO

Thanksgiving morning. The coffee dripped into its pot. Robert sat at the kitchen table, waiting for it, flipping quietly through the morning paper while Karen cut up fall fruit in the kitchen; a light breakfast to prepare the family for a day of feasting. The kitchen was warm, cozy and inviting, softly lit in the dark of the early morning. This was a routine the Williams parents often followed in the morning, quiet companionship before the hurly-burly of the day started. If they did not speak much, it was because they did not need to: Robert and Karen were better in-tuned with one another than he and Linda had ever been. This was why they knew, without needing to discuss it, that they were both surprised when Sarah's boyfriend quietly entered the kitchen without a word – fully dressed, hair slicked back, eyes...quiet.

"Good morning, Jareth." Karen was the first to speak, watching him from where she was cutting apples at the counter. "Did you sleep well?"

He seemed odd today – well, odder, in Robert's opinion; he settled himself against one of the kitchen counters, not really looking at them, rather watching the drip, drip, drip of the coffee, occasionally casting his eyes toward the hallway that led to the stairs. "I did not sleep as well as normally, no, Mrs. Williams – Karen," he corrected himself.

"Oh dear, I hope the bed wasn't uncomfortable."

"I have not a clue."

"What?"

"I mean..." He hissed slightly, running a pale hand across his hair and seeming to try to pull himself awake. "I mean to say that I have no clue why I would not sleep. Your accommodations are generous and perfectly charming."

"O-oh, well, thank you..."

Jareth's mismatched eyes went back to focusing on the hall. Robert shared a quick glance with his wife before addressing his daughter's suitor. "I don't think Sarah's up yet." Those strange eyes looked at him briefly, then went right back to looking at the hallway. "I didn't hear anything from her room when I got up this morning." The oddball began to laugh, a low chuckle deep in his throat. "What's so amusing?"

"Nothing – a private joke. Ah, it seems the coffee is ready."

"Hm?" Karen peered at the coffee maker, a bit confused. "That was...faster than usual. I wonder if I didn't put enough water in the– no, it looks exactly the same. How very odd..."

"Perhaps you just have a bit of luck this morning," Jareth offered with an outstretched palm.

"A strange bit of luck," she replied, pulling down a mug for him from a high shelf. "Would you like some, Jareth? Cream or sugar?"

"Today I will take black, Mrs. W- Karen."

"You don't usually?"

"Not generally, no," he replied, taking the steaming mug from her outstretched hands. "But I've had plenty of sweetness for the present." Karen exchanged a look with her husband; they were equally uncomprehending.

"Ahem, Jareth?" Mrs. Williams ventured, gently clearing her throat and watching as the gentleman sipped at the strong brew. "I know it's none of my business, but may I ask you a...personal question?"

"You are of course permitted to ask, whether I answer or not I cannot say beforehand."

"Um...yes..." She caught Robert's eye as he sat at the kitchen table; her husband shrugged. He was going to be of no help whatsoever. "Do you mind if I ask...are you _serious _about Sarah?"

"Yes." Both parents were startled: he answered without a moment's hesitation, taking another sip of his hot coffee. When a hefty silence followed, Jareth sighed, looking at the pair of them. "Was that all you wished to ask me?"

"N-not exactly. How serious are you?"

"Are there levels to affection and commitment?"

"Well...yes."

"Ah. And what are they?"

Robert cleared his throat when Karen fixed him with a hard look demanding his assistance. "Well...there's being exclusive, of course, and being a devoted couple...there's marriage, a family..."

"Are you asking if I wish to wed your daughter?"

Robert looked at Karen. Karen turned to look at Jareth. "Well...I guess we are, yes."

"Then the answer is yes."

A startled, choking noise from Mr. Williams. "Does Sarah know that?"

"I have never made it a secret."

"And have you asked her?"

There was that weird laugh again, almost swallowed in the coffee cup. "'Ask' is, perhaps, not the most operative word..."

"But you _do _want to marry her...have children."

"Oh, most certainly."

"Jareth." Robert was speaking very firmly, fuzzy eyebrows set with consternation. "Sarah is very young to become committed in such a way-"

"You are right, Mr. Williams."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"No matter what I offer her, she will not say yes to me – not yet. She is too young. But I am a patient man, I can wait. I've waited this long, certainly." Jareth took a long drink of his coffee then, strange, dark eyes intense with a very odd emotion Robert could not place. "I told her I will never stop until victory is mine – it's a figure of speech," he quickly amended at the upset looks the couple were passing between one another.

"Er...how long _have _you waited." There was no response. "Jareth?"

There was no response – and nor would there be one. The man stood ramrod straight, eyes fixed down the hallway like a disciple with gaze on his prophet. There, at the foot of the stair, was Sarah; she wore a baggy sweatshirt too big for her, the sleeves dangling past her small, soft hands, and a close-fitting pair of exercise pants. If her brown hair had been brushed, it was not much, and it mostly framed her face in dark tangles. Her skin was pale, eyes heavy, as though she had had a fitful night of it as well – yet for all that, she _glowed _with a softness in her eyes and redness in her lips that bespoke a fullness, a richness, a wisdom beyond what she had held even the night before. Without another word to Karen or Robert, Jareth crossed to her in an instant, like there was no one else in the universe, let alone in the house.

Karen's hand went to her mouth to stop the little sound that tried to escape her lips as she watched them, eyes crinkled with emotion. "Oh, Robert, look!" The quietness of their voices did not reach the kitchen, but she could see their heads bowed toward one another, their fingers intertwined, a softness about them she well recognized. "They're in love!" Mrs. Williams turned to face her husband at the kitchen table. "Robert?" The poor man held his face in his hands, a restrained, choked sobbing sound slipping through his fingers. "Robert, are you _crying_?"

"No!" Was his muffled reply, still refusing to drop his large, dry, tired hands. "I just knew I should have bought a gun!"

In the sanctuary of the hall, Jareth and Sarah stood as if the kitchen were not there at all, speaking quietly because they had no desire to share their words with any other particle of matter but one another. "Good morning," he whispered, a quiet, fulsome pride and possessiveness shining through his blue-and-brown eyes. Delicately, he traced the backs of two of his fingers down the soft curve of her cheek. Sarah smiled up at him and it set his heart to pounding. "How are you feeling? Not too sore, I hope?"

"I'm alright," she shook her head, the soft smile not leaving her lips. "I thought you'd be there when I woke up this morning."

"I wanted to be," he admitted, pulling her a little closer, his breath ghosting gently over her temple. "But I did not wish to wake you, and I thought you might...want a moment to yourself."

"I'm okay. Um...but it was nice of you to think of me."

He kept looking at her like...like _that_. Like the light of the stars had gotten caught in his eyes. Sarah couldn't look away. "There's coffee – can I get you some?" She nodded. "How do you want it?"

"Cream and sugar, please. Jareth-" Sarah caught his arm as he went to fetch it for her, fingers digging into his soft sleeve and gently pulling him back. Quietly, her thin arms wrapped around his torso, and she buried her face in the warmth of his chest. "You said...you said you would take me and make me your Queen. Does that mean I am now?"

The fey lord quietly pressed his lips into her hair in a chaste and adoring kiss. "I did say that – but I was mistaken."

Sarah's arms shook around him for just a moment. "W-what?"

Carefully, he tucked his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head up to face him; his smile was more gentle than she had ever seen it, sweeter even than last night. She had thought she knew him so well, but it seemed there were sides of him she had never had access to before now. It was possible _he _didn't even know they existed. "Fate created you a Queen, Sarah Williams, long before I ever knew a thing. I cannot make you what you already are." Sarah bit her lip; she was pretty sure that wasn't even a romantic thing to say, yet her insides trembled and melted under his hot looks, the warmth of his hands...not _now_, not here in her parents' hallway! "You need but say the word, and I will make the transition...more official."

"A-and until then?"

"Until then..." He bent his lips toward her own, his strong hands tightening around her trim waist. "I intend to continue to demand my rights, as your King."

Her eyes half shut at that, her soft smile growing more sultry and adult. "You should be careful, you know...if I have rights of you as _your _Queen."

"Madame, but name the time and place and I have already sworn to bend to your merest whim and pleasure..."

Jareth did not kiss her at that moment. This was because a small voice above their heads awkwardly cleared its throat, and the pair looked up. Sitting on the stair, watching them, sat Toby, his chubby late-toddler legs poking between the gaps in the banisters, his little hands clinging tight to the rails. "Hi..."

"Toby..." Sarah sighed, running her fingers through her hair, but smiled in spite of herself. "What's up, little man?"

Nervously, the child pulled himself from his perch, padding down the stairs with an object held behind his back. Jareth watched with an eyebrow arched in interest as he came to a stop in front of them, showing off the item: a blocky, grey plastic cartridge with a strange, colorful sticker on the front. "Jareth," he asked, all shyness, more his usual self, but not with the Goblin King. "Will you play Mario with me?"

Jareth turned to look at Sarah, expecting a translation. "It's a video game," she whispered. "He got it last year for Christmas. Go on and play with him, you'll have fun. I promised Karen I'd help her make pies anyway."

"Very well, Toby," the King nodded, one hand tucked behind his back. Before he could say another word, the boy had squealed with pleasure, grabbing his free wrist and pulling him insistently toward his most treasured possession. Before he could be dragged away entirely, Jareth caught Sarah's fingers with his, the thumb brushing across her nails. "This conversation isn't over," he said, eyes hot upon her, and she shivered with delight.

"Don't you worry, Goblin King," she returned in a soft, heady whisper. "I intend to enjoy this." He smiled at her with pointed teeth before being yanked out of sight, and Sarah watched the place where he had been a moment before with a bit of a full, happy sigh. She was insane, trusting her life and future happiness to the most vile, egregious, cheating man who had ever drawn breath.

She was okay with that.

Turning, Sarah walked into the warmth of her family kitchen. It was time to make pies.

**The End**

**A.N.: Are you people satisfied yet?! Go read "Say When," it's actually **_**meant **_**to be multi-chaptered!**

**Obviously, I kid. I want to thank all the many people who reviewed, favorited, followed, etc (especially for part one. You guys had some really great things to say, some things I hadn't thought of, and others that made me go, "Yessss, I did it right!"). This was an amazing amount of fun to do, and that's largely thanks to you guys urging me to do more than I had originally planned. Though I **_**did **_**put off working on "Say When" to do this last chapter, which you can see took...a long time. Way longer than I anticipated – partly due to the fact I haven't had a day off work in a week, and tomorrow is my only precious day off this week. So on that note, I think I'll go collapse. Give me a few days respite before expecting anything from "Say When," k? Thank you to the Laby community, which continues to astonish me with its dedication and serious quality.**


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